The Spawn Among Us!
by Spawnzilla014
Summary: In this parody of The Wolf Among Us, witness the journey of my OC Raizo as he must solve the mystery of a bloody trail of murders left behind by a sadistic serial killer. Along the way, Raizo must team up with new allies and battle against some old enemies, as well as his own inner demons. Contains appearances from many different cartoon, comic, game, and anime universes!
1. A New Life in Empire Plaza!

**Author's Note!* Hey guys! I'm SO sorry for the complete lack of updates; my new job of working at the jail has taken a LOT out of me! But the good news is, I've finally got a brand new idea for a brand new kind of story. After playing hours of The Wolf Among Us, Tom Clancy's The Wildlands, and Far Cry 5...** **and watching a couple of bad ass anime shows and movies (Hardboiled, The Killer, The Foreigner, Angel Cop, Violence Jack, and Wicked City just to name a few!) I have finally come up with a brand new idea! So picture this:**

 **Raizo (My OC!) has spent the better part of his life living as a Special Forces Agent hunting and killing some of the most savage, ruthless, and evil criminals known to mankind; fanatical terrorist groups, cartel gangs, and even corrupt politicians, you name it. But after so many years of bloodshed and violence, Raizo has had enough. But before he has a chance to walk away from this shady life, he's betrayed and murdered by one of his own best friends from the Special Forces.**

 **Several years later, Raizo has awoken from the dead as a Hellspawn. Not wanting to go back to his old ways, Raizo decides to take matters into his own hands and decides to help defend the weak and innocent. But his violent antics as a vigilante are noticed by many, including a group of special people dedicated to defending toons from the outside world. Among them is a former member of the Special Forces, as well as an old friend: Ken Roland. (Another OC of mine!)**

 **Long story short, Raizo is given a choice: He could join up with this group or spend the rest of his life in hiding from the law. Remembering his wife Lily and her last words, Raizo decided to take up on Roland's offer. And that, my dear ladies and gentlemen, is where our story proudly begins! I just need to warn you all, though. This story is NOT for kids, despite some famous cartoon, comic, and anime characters that show up. There are sequences of gruesome and realistic violence, strong language, strong sexual content, nudity, and drug and alcohol use; reader's discretion is strongly advised! So with that out of the way, let's begin our story: The Spawn Among Us!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: A New Life in Empire Plaza!**

* * *

Once upon a time in Empire Plaza, there lived a special group of people called toons. They once lived happily in California, where a place called Toon Town once flourished and thrived full of toons. However, over the years, crime became a bigger threat to the people of California. After a horrific event took place in Las Vegas, the toons fled in fear for their lives and sought shelter over in Empire Plaza.

Unfortunately, life in Empire Plaza was not any easier for the toons. The humans were not too fond of these newcomers, and as such, tensions grew between the two factions. In an act to preserve the peace, the President of the United States decided to give a small fraction of the city to the toons. There, they would be kept under close watch by a special forces group to keep the peace. The group was called the Toon Protection Program, or TPP for short. Among those people was a man named Raizo. His job was simple: Keep the toons safe from the outside world, as well as from hurting each other.

 ***Mitch Murder: Night Train plays!***

A man in his 30s stepped onboard a metro train, sighing heavily as he stood still and rode his way to the other side of the city. This man had black hair in a shaggy suave fashion, blue eyes, white skin, and wore a black leather jacket with some jeans and black and white sneakers. His name was Raizo, and he was on a job. Earlier this evening, he received a tip from an anonymous source that trouble was brewing at one of the toon tenements. All he had to do was get there and see what was going down before he had to step in and take action.

When the train finally stopped, Raizo slowly stepped out and made his way down a set of steps before walking through the darkened streets. He lit up a cigarette before he was able to catch a ride from a taxi cab. "Where to, partner?" the cabbie asked. Raizo responded by showing him a street address scribbled onto a piece of paper he pulled out from his jacket pocket. "All right then. Hold on, tight!" the cabbie chuckled.

As Raizo rode in silence through the city, he sighed as he looked out the window. Things were so much more simple back then, back when toons and humans got along together. But as the years went on, the atmosphere and climate of politics ruined everything. Now, people were so damn sensitive, politically correct, or at each other's throats. In Raizo's mind, it was no wonder why some people turned to crime...or worse.

Finally, the taxi dropped Raizo off where he needed to be. As Raizo stepped out of the taxi, he handed him a wad of cash before he walked away. Raizo took a deep breath and sighed before he looked up at the large tenement building; this was the place he needed to be all right.

 ***Song ends!***

As Raizo entered inside of the building, he was immediately greeted with the sight of a blue hedgehog in red and white running shoes looking up a set of stairs. Raizo shook his head and sighed in annoyance as he approached him. "Sonic." Raizo gruffly said. Sonic gulped nervously as he was caught off guard. "Oh, shit...ok, just play it cool." Sonic muttered before he turned around to face him. "Hey, Raizo! How are you doing buddy old pal?" Sonic began in a friendly tone.

Raizo just folded his arms across his chest, frowning as he stared at Sonic. "Ok, look...I know I don't look human. It's a problem, I get it. But all I was doing was just stepping out of my apartment to get a good look to see what this drunk asshole was doing, that's all." Sonic explained. Raizo continued to smoke, not having any of what Sonic was saying. "Look, I'll get my pill first thing in the morning! Cross my heart and hope to die, and all that jazz. There's no need to get upset!" Sonic continued nervously.

Raizo held up his hand to silence him before he finally spoke up. "Sonic...I've heard more than enough of your bullshit excuses. This is unacceptable! You know that you're not allowed out in public unless you take your humanization pill. It's completely irresponsible and you know it!" Raizo scolded in a gruff tone. "Raizo...cut me some slack, will ya? You know it hasn't been easy for me lately! Or anyone for that matter! I mean, do you even have any idea how much it costs to have an entire household of toons to be able to take those pills?" Sonic complained.

Raizo sighed as he shook his head. "It's not my fucking problem, all right? You're the one who's risking getting your ass shipped away for breaking the rules. Don't believe me? Just as everyone else that I shipped back to the Farm!" Raizo growled. "Whoa, dude! That's a low blow." Sonic exclaimed in dismay. "You don't like it? Too bad! Those are the rules; you either take your pills and look human like the rest of us, or you get shipped off to the Farm back in California. It's that simple! You don't want me catching you off your pill again, Sonic." Raizo said sternly. Sonic grumbled as he kicked the floor. "All right, already! All of this will be taken care of as soon as I get the money and the doctors are able to make their pill!" Sonic finally said in defeat. "Whatever the cost, it's worth it! So don't make me have this conversation with you again!" Raizo replied.

Suddenly, a piano fell from the floor above and startled them both from the loud crashing noise it made. "Holy shit! You see, Raizo?! This is exactly what I'm talking about; please tell me that you're gonna do something about this!" Sonic exclaimed. Raizo raised his eyebrows a bit before he took in another drag of his cigarette. "Ok...so, what exactly am I walking into here?" Raizo wondered. "I'll tell you what it is; it's that fatass walking carpet, Pete! He's been going on like this for hours; he'll turn this place into dust if you let him. He's in a fucking rage!" Sonic explained angrily.

Suddenly, another loud crash was heard from upstairs. "Damn it, Raizo! This is the final straw; he's gotta go!" Sonic said as he folded his arms across his chest. "Why's he so pissed? Do you have any clue what set him off?" Raizo asked trying to understand the situation. "Who the hell knows what it was this time? That dude's gotta a hair trigger; no pun intended. So I try to keep as far away from him as possible!" Sonic explained. "When did he start drinking?" Raizo asked with a raised eyebrow. "Huh! Between you and me, I don't think he's ever stopped!" Sonic snorted.

Another crash was heard from upstairs, along with another voice. "FUCK YOU, YOU OVERSIZED FUZZBALL!" a feminine voice shouted. "Holy shit! I wasn't even aware anyone else was up there, I swear!" Sonic cried in shock. Raizo finally crushed out his cigarette and began climbing up the stairs to deal with the situation. But as soon as Raizo left, Sonic began to grumble curses under his breath. "Stupid asshole! Telling me what to do and how to spend my money? Who does he think he is, that-" Sonic grumbled before he was interrupted. "Hey, Sonic? The chandeliers fell from the ceiling again!" a yellow two-tailed fox cried. "What?! Oh, not again...Knuckles is gonna be pissed! What are we gonna do, Tails?" Sonic cried. "We ran out of tape yesterday, so we won't be able to fix it." Tails began. "What?! Well, what about the glue? We got plenty of that left over, right?" Sonic pressed. "Uh, no...we used that to fix the leaking pipes yesterday." Tails reminded. "Damn it! All right...we'll figure something out. Come on!" Sonic said as he got back into his home with his room mate.

Back upstairs, Raizo slowly made his way towards Pete's apartment. He could hear him causing quite a ruckus as he was fighting with someone. "Just stop it! You're drunk!" a young woman's voice cried. "You're gonna learn to respect me if it's the last thing I do! Hey; look at me when I'm talking to you!" Pete yelled. Raizo finally approached the door to the apartment before he kicked down the door. As he entered inside, he saw everything that was going on. Pete, a large and rather fat black furred anthropomorphic cat in blue overalls, was drunk off his ass and was apparently assaulting a young anime woman. "God damn whore! You know who I am now?!" Pete snarled after he punched her. "HEY! That's enough!" Raizo shouted as he tackled Pete to the wall.

Pete was caught off guard from Raizo's sudden attack. "What?! You again!" Pete snarled. "Hey, you got something on your face!" the anime woman snapped as she approached Pete. "What the fuck are you blabbin' on about, you stupid cu-" Pete began before the woman spit blood at his face. Pete growled in anger as this happened, making it hard for Raizo to restrain him. "Ok, everyone shut up and tell me what the hell is going on!" Raizo cried before Pete butted him away. As Raizo stepped back and wiped blood off his face, he glared at Pete, who glared right back at him. "This don't concern you, boy! So you best high tail it outta here while you still can! Don't make me whup you again!" Pete growled as he rolled up his sleeves.

Raizo was already tired and pissed off enough as it was, but he was livid at the fact of Pete thinking that he was above him. "Pete...you've got three seconds to calm down, or I'm coming over there and I'm gonna break your fat, fucking face!" Raizo threatened. "Is that a fact, boy?" Pete scoffed. "Yeah, that's a fucking fact!" Raizo snapped. Pete chuckled evilly as he cracked his knuckles. "You got balls, I'll give you that boy! Too bad I'm gonna have to rip em' out!" Pete sneered as he put on some brass knuckles. "Guess what? Whatever bullshit you're fantasizing about isn't going to happen!" Raizo snarled as he stood his ground.

Pete roared as he charged forward and tried to punch Raizo, but Raizo was able to dodge his punch before he grabbed hold of Pete's arm and held him in a tight lock. Raizo tightened his grip, making Pete cry out in pain. "You gonna calm down? Or do I need to put you down?" Raizo cried angrily. "Up yours!" Pete shouted as he tried to buck Raizo off. Raizo eventually shoved Pete into a table, keeping him pinned down from behind. Raizo smashed his face into the table a couple of times before he grabbed a large glass bottle and smashed it against Pete's head. "You're a fucking glutton for punishment, Pete." Raizo sneered. "Fuck you!" Pete growled in pain.

Raizo hoisted Pete back up before he pinned him to the bed and began punching his face several times. Eventually, Pete was able to push Raizo off of him before he struggled to stand back up. Seizing an opportunity to fight back, Pete grabbed a lamp and tried to smash Raizo with it. But Raizo dodged his attack and stomped his foot into his leg, making Pete scream out in agony before Raizo grabbed his face and smashed it against the wall.

Pete was bloodied up, but still refused to give up. He grabbed a chair and attempted to swing at Raizo's head, but he missed. Pete angrily threw the chair at Raizo, but Raizo moved out of the way before the chair smashed up into pieces as it crashed against the wall. Enraged, Pete charged towards Raizo to try and finish him off, but Raizo avoided his attacks and finally finished Pete by tripping him and then grabbing him before smashing him into the kitchen sink, knocking him out cold.

Raizo panted heavily as he tried to catch his breath after the lengthy fight with Pete, while Pete just laid on the floor like a slug. "Argh! Damn...that was fucking sloppy!" Raizo gasped as he keelhauled over on his knees. As he caught his breath, the young anime woman approached him with a concerned look on her face. As she stood there, Raizo was able to get a better look at her. She was roughly the same age as Raizo, had light brown skin, beautiful green eyes, long black hair in a ponytail and a large pair of size DD breasts. "You all right, hon?" she asked softly.

Raizo grunted as he stood back up. "What are you still doing here? You need to leave!" Raizo replied snappishly, ignoring her concern. The young woman was offended by his attitude. "Well, if that's how you wanna do this-" she began. "Look! I've had a long, shitty day. It would be better for us both if you just did what you were told!" Raizo growled. "You think you're the only one who's had it rough?!" the woman snapped. Suddenly, Pete slowly sat back up and growled as he pointed his finger at the woman. "You think that's bad, bitch? Just you wait and see! When I get my hands on you, I'll-" Pete began. "SHUT UP!" Raizo shouted as he kicked Pete in the face.

Pete screamed in pain from Raizo's sudden act of violence, further shocking the anime woman. "OW! Jew sunova bidch! Jew boke mah jaw; jew won't gettaway wid dis!" Pete cried out in pain as he held his bleeding mouth. "Unless you want me to throw your fat ass out the window, shut the fuck up and sit down!" Raizo threatened as he gave Pete a dark look. As Raizo approached the anime woman, she just looked at him with resentment. "You're still here? Why?" Raizo demanded. "Look, I'm not going anywhere until that fucking deadbeat pays me!" the woman stated as a matter-of-factly. "HA! Pay you?! Fer wat?!" Pete snorted. "I let you have your way with me for over an hour; you're lucky that I don't charge your fat ass extra!" the woman cried angrily.

Raizo rubbed his forehead in frustration as she said that. "So that's what this is all about? Fan-fucking-tastic! All right; so let me get this straight, sweetheart. You're telling me that he assaulted you because he didn't want to pay you for your...eh, services? Is that what this is all about?" Raizo said in frustration. "Gee, took you that long to figure that one out? Now maybe you'll let me take what's mine and then I can go!" the anime woman said with pure sarcasm dripping in her voice. "Not so fast! You need to tell me what happened beforehand!" Raizo said as he approached her. "Like I'm gonna give you all the details!" the woman scoffed in anger. "What? No! Not _that_ _!_ I mean, tell me why he was hitting you!" Raizo snapped.

The woman would have argued, but knew that she and Raizo would be here all night if she did. She took a deep breath before she explained what happened before. "He asked me if I recognized him. I said that I didn't, so he got angry and started beating on me. Then you showed up and started beating on him. That about cover it, hon?" the woman explained. "I'm Peg-Leg Pete, jew whore! I wuz da best viwain back in da day! People feared me; people wespected me! Until deez fuckers cum and ruined evewyting! Da gubberment tinks dat dey can just send psycho killaz like did won to...(breaks jaw back in place) push us hardworking simple folk around and tell us how to live our lives while they go halfway across the world just to kill of a group of innocent people for some multi-billionaire for a plot of land! Yeah; I know what you did, you fucking psycho!" Pete rambled angrily.

Raizo began to feel his blood boil as Pete said that. That information was not meant for anyone to know about or even speak of; let alone from a toon! "Pete...shut the hell up right now!" Raizo seethed. "You see, sweetheart? I might be a villain, but even I have a certain level of class. This guy on the other hand, doesn't care for anyone but himself! No sir! All he cares about is getting paid to beat people like you and me up, and then get paid for it! And while he gets to live on the other side of this city in comfort, us hardworking toons have to suffer! You care to tell me how that works, boy?!" Pete cried. "HEY! What the hell did I just say?! I said sit down and shut the fuck up! Or your fat ass is getting thrown out the WINDOW!" Raizo roared as he charged towards Pete and tackled him through a window.

Pete and Raizo both screamed as they fell out the window and fell two stories down below, crashing into a car. After a few minutes of blacking out, Raizo woke up and found himself laying on top of a crushed yellow car. "Ugh...what the fuck?" Raizo grumbled as he struggled to lift his head up. As he finally managed to look around him, he saw that Pete was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. "Aw, shit!" Raizo cursed as he laid his head back down.

But as he did, he turned to find Sonic staring at him with his jaw dropped. "Grr...hey, Sonic." Raizo grumbled. "My car!" Sonic finally managed to say. "Yeah...give me a minute, will you?" Raizo groaned. "Oh, no...please! Take your time. Can I get you anything? A pillow or blanket, maybe?" Sonic sarcastically said. Raizo just groaned as he turned to face Sonic. "Sonic...get off the street! You're not on your pill!" Raizo simply said. Sonic shook his head in disbelief; it was bad enough that he was harassing him about his pills, but now he didn't even care about his car? "So sorry for smashing up your car, Sonic. Oh, it's no problem. No, really! I'm really bummed out about it, man. It's a real shame! But that's just not you, is it? You always gotta play the hardboiled cop!" Sonic said with angry spite. "You know what, Sonic? I couldn't care less about you or your fucking car right now! There's more important shit happening at the moment!" Raizo snapped.

Suddenly, Sonic looked up to see someone approaching them. "Well, it sure is nice to see you're not fucking dead!" Sonic sneered before he walked away in a huff. "Wait, what are you-" Raizo began before a large pair of hands grabbed him by the throat. Raizo suddenly found himself being pinned to a brick wall with Pete choking the life out of him. "I've got you now, boy! So what's next? Huh?! Come on out; I know you're in there, you monster! I'll put you out of your fucking misery!" Pete growled as he tightened his grip around Raizo's throat.

Raizo struggled to break free from Pete's grip, but found himself failing due to the amount of energy he spent trying to stop him earlier. But just as everything seemed to fade to black for Raizo, his eyes suddenly started glowing bright green and a demonic growl left his throat. Pete smiled wickedly, that is until something hit him from behind. As Pete fell to the ground knocked out cold, Raizo fell to his knees and had difficulty breathing. But as he was helped up, he was very surprised to see that it was the same anime woman from earlier. She had grabbed a fire axe and smashed into the back of Pete's head, much to Raizo's surprise.

But as Raizo was helped back up, the woman looked a bit frightened as she saw Raizo's face. Raizo immediately recognized this and shook his head, trying to get himself back to normal. After a brief moment, Raizo was back to his normal self...for now. "Thanks!" Raizo finally said out of breath. The woman smiled as he said that. "You're welcome." she replied as she bent over and began searching through Pete's pockets. "Huh? Wait, what are you doing?" Raizo demanded. "Don't worry...I'm just taking what he owes me. You ok back there? I mean...those eyes...that's not supposed to happen to you, is it?" the woman responded. "Not if I can avoid it!" Raizo answered honestly.

The woman grew visibly irritated as she pulled out a bunch of coins from Pete's pockets. "God damn it! You fat fucking piece of shit!" the woman snarled as she began kicking him. "Honey...he's got an axe in his head; I doubt that he's feeling that!" Raizo pointed out. "Son of a bitch can take more!" the woman cried angrily. "Aisle kill jew! Jew fukin' bidch!" Pete groaned. "Let me help you with that!" the woman growled as she rammed her heel into the back of his skull. Ordinarily Raizo would have stopped her, but after all he went through tonight, he decided Pete needed to be punished. "Someone's having a bad day!" Raizo smirked. "Yeah, no shit Sherlock! That makes two of us!" the woman snapped before she finally quit and began walking off in a huff.

Raizo sighed as he removed the axe from Pete's head. "Stay there, fat boy!" Raizo said as he tossed the bloody axe aside and went after the woman. As Raizo approached her, he noticed that she was crying. "What the fuck am I gonna do now? If he finds out that I have nothing-" the woman began. "Hey! I gotta talk to you for a second." Raizo said as he approached her. The woman looked up at him, tears running down her eyes and ruining her makeup. Raizo noticed this and took out a napkin and offered it to her, to which the woman gratefully took. "Thanks!" she said simply as she dried her eyes. "Smoke?" Raizo offered as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

The woman smiled softly as she given a light, and for a brief moment the two total strangers enjoyed absolute bliss as they smoked. "So, what's your name?" Raizo asked finally. "After what you did for me tonight? Whatever you like!" she replied jokingly. "I'm being serious. I am gonna have to make a statement about this; I'm sure you understand." Raizo said calmly. The woman grew sad as he said that. "Young girls back then looked up to me as a hero in my community. Before everything changed. Before everything became so...so harsh and unforgiving. I remember there was a time when people used to be so happy. I used to be so happy. But then...everything just became so different." the woman explained with a sad look on her face.

Raizo grew grim as she said that. "I know what you mean. People were a lot happier back then. Before politics and religion plagued society." Raizo said gruffly. "It's not politics or religion honey! It's...it's people! People have changed, and not in a good way! I...I used to have a lot of friends back in Anime City. You know, that huge urban place in Toon Town? But because of what happened to the people of the human world, they began to change. I can't explain it...but I still remember seeing the looks on their faces from that fateful day." the woman continued as she kept smoking.

Raizo nodded his head sadly as she said that. "I was there when it happened; when all those innocent people died. That's one of the many reasons I chose to do what I did. Before joining this group, I mean!" Raizo admitted. "Oh, really?" the woman said in surprise. "Yeah...but that was a long time ago. I'm a changed man now...or so I keep telling myself." Raizo said grimly. As he finished smoking, he suddenly noticed that Pete was gone. "Fuck!" Raizo cursed as he was about to run out and chase him. "Stop! We don't need to make this any bigger than it already is!" the woman said as she grabbed his arm. "It's not just about you, all right? I can't have him running around in the state that he's in!" Raizo snapped. "Oh, so it's not just about me? I thought this was all about me!" the woman snapped back.

Raizo regretted his bitterness. "I didn't mean it like that, you know!" Raizo said. The woman felt the genuine concern on his voice and turned away, blushing as she released her grip. "Um...how much was it that he owed you, honey?" Raizo asked. The woman sighed as she shook her head; she knew that it would lead to this. "He owes me $150!" she said plainly. "Damn! I'm guessing it'll be real bad if you showed up empty handed, right?" Raizo said as he held his hand behind his head. "I'll be fine." the woman responded quickly.

Raizo took a deep breath before he made his next move. "Ok, let me see...I've got 10, 20, 30, 40...here's $86 for you. I know it's not enough, but it's all I've got on me right now. It'll help, right?" Raizo said after he counted out some money. "What?! No, you don't need to do that! It's fine; you've done enough for me tonight, really!" the woman objected. "Just take the damn money, all right? I'm trying to help you." Raizo said trying his best not to lose his temper. The woman hesitantly took the money before she shoved it in between her cleavage. "Thanks. I, uh...need to drop this off. But I guess you and I can talk again later afterwards?" the woman suggested. "You still haven't told me your name. And I still need to make that statement." Raizo pointed out. "I know...but things are a little complicated for me right now. Look, how about you and I meet at your place later, since it's too late for an office visit." the woman offered.

Raizo raised his eyebrow as she suggested that. "How do you know-" he began. "Hey, everyone knows that you live in the smallest apartment over on the other side of the city." the woman said with a smile. "Good to know!" Raizo muttered. "You ought to go home and get cleaned up, babe. You look like hammered shit!" the woman said as she wiped some blood off his face. "Eh, looks don't mean nothing to me!" Raizo shrugged with a chuckle. "You'll never get a girlfriend with that attitude!" The woman giggled with him before she grew silent again. "Hey, hon? I need to tell you something." she said after a moment of silence. "What is it?" Raizo asked.

The woman approached his ear and whispered her answer. "You're not a monster like everyone says you are." she whispered before she kissed him. As she walked away, she smiled at him. "See you around, Hellspawn!" she said. "Um...yeah. I'll see you!" Raizo managed to say at last. After the woman walked away, Raizo was left along in the darkened streets. But that didn't bother him one bit. "Well, I gotta long walk ahead of me. Better get moving while I still can!" Raizo said to himself as he lit up another cigarette.


	2. A New Case!

**Chapter 2: A New Case!**

* * *

As Raizo finally made his way back home, he crushed out the last of his cigarette and sighed. "Shit! What a long walk that was! Oh well, at least I got my exercise in." Raizo said to himself before the sound of people fighting were heard. "You have no control over your temper!" a woman's voice shouted. "You made me do this!" a deep voice shouted back. "You know what, Beast? I've had enough of this! I'm going out for a walk, so don't follow me!" the woman snapped. "Fine! Go ahead and go, Belle! But guess what? I won't be here when you get back!" Beast shouted. "Fine by me! I won't come back until you apologize for your bad behavior." Belle. "I WILL NEVER APOLOGIZE!" Beast roared.

Raizo groaned in irritation as he shook his head. "Fucking toons! Doesn't matter where I go; they're always there...just like a bad case of the-" Raizo muttered before he heard something from behind him. He growled as he saw a shadowed figure hiding behind some bushes. "Don't make me come over there!" Raizo growled. There was no response, further frustrating Raizo. "Look, asshole! I've already had to deal with enough bullshit from one toon tonight, so just come on out and don't make this anymore difficult than it needs to be!" Raizo said angrily.

Much to his surprise, Ariel from the Little Mermaid stepped out in her human form wearing a pink shirt and blue jeans. "Sorry for being an asshole, Raizo." she said snappishly. "Oh, Ariel. It's just you...what are you doing out here? It's awfully late for a midnight stroll, wouldn't you think?" Raizo stated. "Is there some kind of curfew I'm unaware of? What's with the third degree?" Ariel demanded. "Hey, I'm asking the questions here!" Raizo snapped. Ariel gave him a dark look before she looked at her watch and gasped. "Damn it! I'm late! I have to go, Raizo. But could you do me a favor and not tell Eric you saw me? He worries too much as it is-" Ariel said. "Look, whatever it is you've got going on with him, keep me out of it. I'm not a fucking marriage counselor!" Raizo said impatiently.

Ariel stared at him with her jaw dropped before she started to walk away. "Look, I'll explain later, but right now I really have to go. It's not what you might be thinking!" Ariel said more seriously before she finally left. Raizo just shrugged his shoulders before he walked into the apartment complex. As he approached the elevator, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever get a good night's sleep. The TPP was short staffed enough as it was, but this was getting ridiculous. "Hmph! I damn well deserve that vacation!" Raizo grumbled as he stepped inside the elevator.

But before he could go, a man in blue jeans and white t-shirt stopped him. It was Ariel's husband, Eric. "Hey, Raizo! Wait a second; have you seen my wife? Have you seen Ariel?" he asked. Raizo took a deep breath and sighed before he gave his answer. "Fuck off, Eric. I don't have time for this!" Raizo growled. "Excuse me?!" Eric exclaimed as he was offended by Raizo's rudeness. "You heard me! I'm staying out of it." Raizo added. "Staying out of what?" Eric demanded angrily. "Whatever the hell _it_ is, Eric! I'm not a fucking marriage counsuler, all right? Now go away!" Raizo snapped as he finally lost his patience.

Eric gave him a dirty look before he walked away. "Fine! That's the last time I ask for your help, jerk!" Eric grumbled. Raizo grinned in triumph as the elevator finally took him up to the top floor where his apartment was. As he finally made his way into his apartment, Raizo groaned in discomfort as he realized how hot and stuffy it was in his place. "Fuck! I should've cracked open a window or something before I left!" Raizo cursed as he fanned himself. After he opened up his window, he went to the kitchen and washed his face in the sink. "Ahh! Much better." Raizo said out loud after he took a paper towel and dried his face.

Raizo took a deep breath and sighed heavily as he shook his head; he was exhausted. "What a fucking night!" he grumbled. Raizo then walked over towards his work desk, which was a cluttered mess. "Hmm, been a while since I went through any of these files." Raizo said out loud. He picked one up and growled in anger as he stared at the subject within the file. "Hades! Hmph...I never trusted this fucking guy!" Raizo growled as he tossed the file aside. After looking through a couple more files, Raizo decided to go to bed. But before he could, he noticed that there was an order of Chinese food on his dinner table. "Huh? I don't remember ordering that. That's probably a bad sign!" Raizo said out loud.

After he threw away the trash, he went to his living room only to find a large anthropomorphic rabbit sleeping on his couch. It was Bugs Bunny. "Augh! Not this shit again...Bugs!" Raizo growled in irritation. He approached the rabbit and tried to wake him up, but he wouldn't budge. "Hey! Bugs, get up! Bugs? Bugs!" Raizo said loudly and firmly. After not getting a response from him, Raizo shook him awake. "AAIIEE! I didn't do it, Elmer I swear to-oh, it's just you. What's up doc?" Bugs said as he was woken up. Raizo glared at him, making Bugs realize his mistake. "I'm on your couch, ain't I?" Bugs said casually. "Get out!" Raizo growled.

Bugs pouted as he slowly removed himself from Raizo's couch. As Raizo finally managed to take a seat, he grabbed another pack of cigarettes and was about to light one up. "Ey, doc! Gotta smoke?" Bugs asked. Raizo rolled his eyes, but gave Bugs one of his cigarettes before he lit it. "Thanks, doc! A couple dozen more of these and we ought to be square on that new rabbit hole you owe me." Bugs said as he puffed away. Raizo shook his head as he began cleaning up his sleeping area. "Bugs, this has got to stop! You can't keep sneaking off the farm like this; it's completely irresponsible!" Raizo scolded. "The fresh air, sunshine, and rainbow pitch they sell you on is complete and utter (if you'll pardon my French!) bullshit! I didn't sign up for any of this when I agreed to be protected by this Toon Protection Program of yours! Don't send me back there, doc! Please; you have no idea what's it like back there!" Bugs complained.

Raizo sighed in irritation as he grabbed a bottle of whiskey he hid in his counter. "Don't be a pain in the ass, Bugs! I'll tell you the same thing I told Sonic; you're putting all of Toon Town at risk by exposing yourself in public! Either get your humanization pills or go to the Farm; it's that simple!" Raizo said as he poured himself a glass of whiskey. Bugs pouted as he said that, but his eyes lit up as he saw the whiskey in Raizo's hand. "Aww, you shouldn't have. Is that for me?" Bugs teased. "No!" Raizo answered quickly as he walked over to his couch. "Ey, doc! That rabbit hole of mine didn't blow itself up! Now I ain't saying that's definitely a good reason to have offered me a drink, but it would help ease some of the pain you once caused me. It might also show just how different you are now, ey?" Bugs stated.

Raizo responded by gulping down the whole glass of whiskey, offending Bugs as he stared at him with a wicked grin on his face. "You say something, Bugs?" Raizo teased. "Gee...thanks for that, doc! Really appreciate it...I swear, you youngsters ain't got no respect for us toons anymore!" Bugs grumbled. "Yeah, I think they left the part of being nice to obnoxious _doodles_ out of the orientation!" Raizo joked. Bugs gasped as he said that. "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?! How many times I gotta say it; that's OUR word, doc!" Bugs cried angrily. "Well, I hate to break it to you Bugs...but I call things out as I see them." Raizo smirked as he poured himself another glass of whiskey.

Bugs glared at him as he folded his arms across his chest. "I'll let that one slide, since it seems to be the sauce speaking instead of you! But if you ask me, I think that your attitude needs some adjustment!" Bugs said. "I don't need to be lectured by a rabbit right now!" Raizo grouched as he laid down on his couch. "Is that so? Well, that proves it then!" Bugs said. "Proves what?" Raizo demanded. "Because of your rotten attitude, everyone in Toon Town hates you!" Bugs replied as a matter- of-factly.

Raizo looked at him with an angry look in his eyes as he said that. "Bugs...give me a good reason not to grab you by the ears and chuck your cotton tailed ass out the window!" Raizo threatened. "Aha! See? That's the kind of attitude that gets you in trouble, doc! I'm willing to bet that you were mean to everyone you came across with tonight!" Bugs sneered as he pointed his finger at him. Raizo suddenly stood up from his couch, startling Bugs. "You think that my job is easy, rabbit?! You try keeping every fucking do-er, toon from ripping each other apart! I mean, how do you expect this all works?!" Raizo cried angrily. "I don't know. How?" Bugs asked. "By being hardboiled!" Raizo said.

This caused Bugs to burst into laughter. "Oh, right...hardboiled, ey? You like be a little salty as well, doc? Maybe served with a side of mayonnaise?" Bugs laughed. "Fuck you! And for the record, there was one person I was nice to this time." Raizo snapped. "Oh yeah? Who?" Bugs challenged. That's when it hit Raizo; he never was able to get her name. "Oh! Ah, I actually don't know her name." Raizo answered. "Great example doc!" Bugs replied in sarcasm.

After a moment of settling down, Bugs spoke up again. "Hey, doc? You know I didn't mean it, right? About everyone hating you? They're actually more afraid of you than anything. Even ol' Yosemite Sam is, though he won't admit it. I mean...just look at your hands, doc! How many people did you kill this time?" Bugs said in a more serious tone. "I didn't kill anyone tonight, believe it or not. And besides; it's just part of my job!" Raizo answered as he took another gulp of whiskey. "Your job is to beat the shit out of toons?" Bugs said nonchalantly. "Sometimes I take bad little toons, especially rabbits, back to the Farm!" Raizo smirked. "Ah, screw you doc!" Bugs spat. "Look, Bugs...it's been nice catching up, but I'd really like to get some sleep. So could you just shut up?" Raizo growled as he began losing patience. "Well, perhaps if my throat wasn't so parched, I wouldn't have to keep talking!" Bugs retorted.

Raizo raised his eyebrows as he said that. "Huh? Wait a minute, that doesn't make any sense!" Raizo muttered. "Just give me a drink, please! I'm dying here!" Bugs exclaimed. "ENOUGH! Look at me, Bugs...I fell out of a two story building! I nearly got my head taken off by Pete! And I've got several hours worth of paperwork ahead of me, so could you just...ugh, don't look at me like that, please!" Raizo snapped as Bugs gave him the cutesy face. "All right, look. If I give this to you, will you shut up and let me sleep?" Raizo said in defeat. "All right, all right...probably!" Bugs snapped.

Raizo sighed as he gave Bugs the last of his whiskey, earning a smile from the toon. "Thanks, doc!" Bugs said happily before he took a carrot out from his pocket. As he dipped the carrot in the whiskey and munched away, Raizo took his leather jacket off and fell into a deep sleep; one he hadn't had in a long time.

 ***2 hours later!***

Raizo woke up to the sound of knocking on his door. "Oh, shit!" Raizo exclaimed as he jolted awake. As brushed his white t-shirt clean and put his black leather jacket back on, Raizo wondered who was at the door. "Just a second!" Raizo said before he arrived at the door. But as he answered it, he was surprised to see that it was his new boss, Roland. He was roughly 40 years old, had short blonde hair, blue eyes, white skin, and wore a black business suit and red tie. "Raizo! Thank God I found you; follow me!" Roland said quickly.

Raizo was quite surprised by Roland's attitude; he looked very distraught, which was rare for him. "Uh, Roland? Roland!" Raizo said. "What?! Sorry, I'm...what is it?" Roland snapped. "What's going on? Where are we going in such a hurry?" Raizo demanded. "Outside, ok? These walls are paper thin and we need to keep calm despite the situation." Roland answered grimly. Raizo didn't like the sound of that.

As they took the elevator downstairs, Roland led Raizo outside at the front step. Luckily, no one else was there. Although, there was a blanket on the steps surrounded by blood. "Roland? Talk to me! What's going on?" Raizo demanded. Roland said nothing, but he looked at Raizo with a deeply concerned look on his face. Raizo knew that something bad was going on, so he decided to keep quiet. As he knelt down by the blanket, Raizo looked at Roland, who looked back with deep sadness in his eyes.

As Raizo slowly removed the blanket, he was given the shock of a lifetime. There laid before him, was the decapitated head of the anime toon woman Raizo met earlier! "What?! Oh, God...no...no!" Raizo gasped. "Wait! You knew this woman, Raizo? She's not human, obviously..." Roland said in surprise. "Pete! He attacked her earlier; I stepped in and helped her out." Raizo replied. "What?! Oh no...you don't think that he-" Roland began. "No! I don't think anything yet, so just give me a second to think." Raizo said.

After a moment of silence, Roland spoke up again. "Who was she, Raizo?" Roland asked. Raizo blushed before he gave his answer. "You know...a working girl?" Raizo said quickly. "A working girl? Raizo, we work with plenty of women and girls, so technically they're working...oh!" Roland said before he realized what he meant. "This woman was having some money problems, so I helped her out." Raizo explained. "Helped her out?! You mean...you didn't-" Roland exclaimed as he blushed. "What?! No! Nothing like that, all right?! I just gave her some money, that's all!" Raizo snapped. "I see. Raizo? Who did this to her? Was it one of us? Or maybe one of the toons?" Roland wondered.

Raizo looked up at him and sighed as he shook his head. "I don't know, Roland. But I do know that there hasn't been a murder here in Toon Town in a very long time." Raizo said seriously. "Another good reason why we shouldn't start a panic." Roland said. "Yeah...so, uh...what happened? Who found her?" Raizo asked. "I did. I found her just like this; I didn't touch her. I grabbed a blanket to cover her up and then came to get you right away." Roland explained. "No one else was with you at that time?" Raizo asked. "No; it's just me." Roland answered. "All right. I'm gonna have to examine her really quick, so just-" Raizo began. "Wait!" Roland said before he closed the woman's eyes. "Thanks." Raizo said as he nodded.

As Raizo observed the head, he shuddered as he observed her neck wound. "What in God's name could have caused a cut like that?" Roland wondered. "Either something very big and really sharp...or this could have black magic involved!" Raizo stated. "It's just awful! And I've dealt with a lot of bad things in my lifetime, but this?! This is just so...surreal!" Roland admitted."Hmm? Now that's odd!" Raizo said to himself. "What?" Roland wondered. "Look at the way she's been placed; she's got no bruises or any other visible damage. You can tell that she was placed here with some care!" Raizo observed. "For all of us to see! God damn it; we're dealing with one sick, twisted son of a bitch!" Roland cursed angrily.

As Raizo kept observing the head, he noticed that there was something inside of her mouth. "What is that?" Raizo said as he reached into her mouth. As Raizo grabbed the object and pulled it out, he was shocked to see that it was a necklace. "It's...her necklace?! Roland, you seen anything like this before?" Raizo cried. "What? No...I've never seen anything like this! God damn it! What's the meaning of this? Why did the killer leave her like this?! It's so bizarre!" Roland exclaimed in disgust.

Raizo thought long and hard before he stated his theory. "I think that this is a message." Raizo began. "A message? But what kind of message is this?! I've dealt with angry people before, but this is going a bit too far!" Roland exclaimed. "No, think about it. The way she was placed; it's exact and purposeful. She was carefully placed right here in the front for all of us to find and see." Raizo explained. "Hmm...when you put it that way, you're right. I guess the killer would want us to know what they did. But here's the question that I have yet to find out: Who did this and why?" Roland stated. "I don't know, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna let him get away with this!" Raizo growled.

Roland sighed as he put the blanket over the woman's head. "You realize what this means, right?" Roland began. "It means I've got another case to solve!" Raizo said with disdain. "Well, yes...but it means that we're gonna have to explain this to the mayor Toon Town, Frollo. As long as Eddie Valiant is away, Frollo is charge of Toon Town." Roland explained. "Don't even think about telling him anything; I've got all the evidence I need to solve this myself!" Raizo snapped. "He's the mayor, Raizo!" Roland cried. "Deputy Mayor; the position's a fucking joke!" Raizo growled. "Raizo...I know that you don't like Frollo, but he needs your respect and cooperation. The last thing we need is a mass panic if people should find out about this!" Roland pointed out. "I just don't want the old man interfering with my case, that's all!" Raizo said giving up on the argument.

Roland sighed as he shook his head. "Frollo is not what's important right now, all right? What's important is that we have a new case, and one that needs to be solved as quickly and quietly as possible. Which is why that I've decided to assign to you a new partner." Roland said. Raizo glared at him as he said that. "Roland...you of all people know that I work alone." Raizo began. "This is not up for discussion, Raizo...not this time! You saw what happened to that woman; we can't let that happen to anyone else!" Roland said. "Then let me do my job!" Raizo argued. "Raizo...don't be difficult, please! Besides; I already filled out the paperwork for your partner, so you'll be working with her first thing tomorrow morning." Roland said sternly.

Raizo groaned as he mentioned that. "A woman?! Seriously, Roland? I don't have time to babysit anyone; I've got a murder case to solve, not listen to some whiny bimbo bitch about her social life!" Raizo complained. Roland smirked as he said that. "Well, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised when you meet your partner tomorrow." Roland said half-way to himself. And with that, Raizo and Roland quickly and carefully removed the woman's head before they went back inside. "What are you going to do with her?" Raizo asked. "I'm taking her up to the coroner's office; I want Professor Oak to run some tests on her before we properly dispose of her." Roland answered. "Don't say it like that; she should be buried!" Raizo exclaimed. "Raizo...it's just another body. And if we're lucky, just another name to include on the obituary." Roland said grimly. "Not to me, she isn't! This time, it's different." Raizo said to himself sadly.


	3. A New Partner!

**Chapter 3: A New Partner!**

* * *

The next morning, Raizo made his way to the Toon Protection Program Headquarters located downtown. It was a large 10 story office building that looked abandoned on the outside, but the inside was where all the magic was...literally. Inside, TPP agents worked alongside with some of the most famous toon characters to help out with their work. Sometimes that included using magic to help clean up messes or solve other people's (namely toons) problems, but the dirty work (things like drug busts or solving murder) were left specifically for the TPP agents. Out of all the TPP agents, Raizo was one of the best when it came to getting the job done. However, that didn't change the fact that some toons despised him.

As Raizo began approaching his office, he noticed that there was a large line of toons waiting to be helped out with their problems. Fievel Mousekewitz from American Tail was in the back of the line, then there was Lincoln Loud from the Loudhouse. Ahead of them was Felix the Cat, Droopy Dog, Betty Boop, Popeye the Sailor Man, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, (Who were roommates now, if you could believe that!) Lefou (Gaston's sidekick from Beauty and the Beast), and Shan Yu. (The large and rather intimidating Hun from Mulan.) As Raizo walked right past them, Shan Yu became angry. "What's the matter with you? Did you lose your sight, or did you forget that there's a line?! I've been standing here for half an hour!" Shan Yu growled. Raizo turned around and stared at him, further angering the Hun. You think you can just do whatever you want? Must be nice wearing that badge!" Shan Yu growled.

Raizo sighed as he shook his head. "I don't have time for this shit!" Raizo snapped before he turned and walked away. "Yeah, you and the rest of all those dogs in there!" Shan Yu snarled as he stomped off. "Well, now! Somebody's gotta temper!" Betty Boop said as she crossed her arms. "I'll say; that Shan Yu guy gives me the willies!" Felix shuddered. "I was actually talking about Raizo...but then again, he is pretty cute!" Betty Boop giggled flirtatiously. "Ugh, this is pointless! Come on, Fievel! Let's go; they're too busy!" Lincoln Loud groaned impatiently. "Aww, but Mama needs help!" Fievel complained. "I know, but we've been here waiting too long for anyone to come out." Lincoln pointed out. "Maybe they'll come back later! Come on; let's go get some donuts; I'm starvin'!" Lefou suggested. "You're gonna pay this time, right? Because we all know what happened last time!" Lincoln reminded. "Ya kids oughta eat more spinach!" Popeye grumbled as he smoked his pipe.

Back inside, Raizo slowly made his way into the main office...only to catch Friar Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame lecturing Roland. "You are the one who brought this up with me in the first place, Mr. Roland!" Frollo scolded. "Yes, I know, but-" Roland began. "You were given one job and you have already failed at it! The last thing that I need with Sir Edward Valiant away is a mass hysteria. You understand?!" Frollo cried angrily. "I do, but-" Roland tried to say. "Do not interrupt me, young man!" Frollo shouted. "You asked me a question, sir!" Roland shot back. "Don't you dare try to change the subject! You're to blame for this catastrophe! Do you have any idea what will happen when people find out about this tragedy? This is a disaster!" Frollo exclaimed.

Finally, Raizo had enough and stepped in. "Fuck off, Frollo! It's not his fault!" Raizo shouted. "Raizo!" Roland hissed. "Instead of finding to blame someone else, we should be focusing on catching the fucking psycho who did this!" Raizo continued as he got in Frollo's face. "Oh, is that so? How convenient, coming from the man who's responsible for this mess to begin with!" Frollo said angrily. Raizo gave him a dirty look as he said that. "Raizo, you inability to protect Toon Town has cost the life of someone. Now at the very least, could any of you tell me some good news? Have you made any progress of solving this case? Have you found out any names of any suspects? Have you found any leads? Anything at all to prove to me that you two know what the hell you're doing!" Frollo lectured.

Roland gave his opinion first. "Well, after Raizo and I investigated the scene of the crime, he told me that Pete had attacked her earlier. So he's a possible suspect!" Roland stated. "That overweight, pompous fool? Huh! The only thing he's guilty of is not paying his taxes. Any other ideas?" Frollo scoffed. "Well...there's Hades! He's got his obsession with death-" Roland suggested. "Oh, please! Just because he claims to be the lord of the dead, doesn't mean it's true! Besides; he's paid his debt to society!" Frollo objected. "So he says!" Roland muttered. "So there's no one else you can think of?" Frollo pressed. "Yeah; I've got one...her pimp!" Raizo said at last.

This shocked Frollo greatly. "Her, uh...so she was a-" Frollo began. "Yeah, your highness! She was a prostitute; she was having some money problems." Raizo said with malice in his voice. "Oh, this is simply delightful! Not only do we have a dead toon on our hands, but it's a dead toon hooker to boot! The both of you have got to handle this case quickly and quietly. Need I remind you that with Sir Edward Valiant away, I'm in charge of this town? I will have order, and you two will find out who's responsible for this callous and cruel act and put him to justice!" Frollo said gravely. "We'll get the job done, old man. Just back off and let us work!" Raizo snapped. "Hmph! I don't know why they hired you in the first place; considering all the damage you've done before!" Frollo huffed.

Raizo would have lashed out at him, but Roland gave him a dark look to make him stop. "Don't worry about it, all right? We'll make sure nobody ruins your perfect reputation!" Raizo snarled with gritted teeth. "That sarcasm is becoming mighty undoing of you, young man. Oh, bother! I'm late for a meeting." Frollo said as he looked at the clock on the wall. As he got up and left, he straightened out his friar's outfit. "Do your jobs, gentlemen. Or I will find someone who will!" Frollo announced. At this point, Raizo lost it. "You know what?!" Raizo began. "Stop!" Roland said as he grabbed his arm.

Frollo turned around to face them. "We'll get started right away, sir!" Roland said in a cheerful tone. Frollo just frowned before he left the office. "Well...that certainly could have gone better." Roland groaned. "God damn it, Roland! I told you not to say anything to him!" Raizo snapped. "I'm sorry, all right?! And besides; if you cursed him out, you just would have ended up pissing him off even more." Roland countered. "Fine! So, uh...about this new partner of mine?" Raizo began. "Oh! Of course; she should be here right about-" Roland began.

Suddenly, a woman with short blonde hair, blue eyes, fair white skin, and a pair of size C breasts walked into the office. She wore a tight black dress that hugged her curvaceous body, and had a pair of silver cross earrings. Her name was Reika Kitami, and she had gained infamy for her being a villainous witch from the Bible Black series. But after some certain events took place, Reika decided to redeem herself and vowed to use her powers for good, explaining why she came here to the TPP. "Sorry I'm late; traffic was awful this morning!" Reika announced. "Ah! Here she is right now! Raizo? Say hello to your new partner, Reika Kitami. Reika? This is Raizo; you'll be working with him on your first big case." Roland announced. "Wait a minute! What the hell are you going to be doing while I'm doing the dirty work?" Raizo demanded. "I'll help you out as much as I can, but you have to understand I'm in charge of keeping things in order here at the office. Reika will be able to help you with whatever you need in the meantime! Why don't you go introduce yourself while I get some stuff organized for our case?" Roland instructed.

Raizo sighed as he shook his head. "Fine! I'll do it...but I won't like it!" Raizo grumbled. "Hey! Just remember; she's here to help us!" Roland reminded. As Roland left, Reika approached Raizo with a smile on her face. "Well, well, well! Aren't you a handsome studboy? You must get all the ladies, I bet!" Reika said with a sneaky grin. Raizo groaned in irritation. "So what do they call you, babe? Should I call you sheriff? Or maybe I can call you chief?" Reika purred as she sat cross legged on a desk, hoping to get a chance to flirt with her new partner.

Raizo reached for a cigarette and lit it up in response. Reika's smile slowly faded to a frown as Raizo just glared at her. "What's wrong, honey?" Reika asked. "Let me say it right here, right now: You and I are not friends!" Raizo growled. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? And just what the hell is your problem anyway?!" Reika exclaimed angrily. "It's simple, sweetheart. I don't like you, but my boss has put us together. So let me make a few things clear with you. We're not here to socialize, gossip, or flirt. We're here on a mission; to solve a murder by any means necessary! If you get in my way, I won't hesitate to use violent force. You understand me?" Raizo growled as he got in her space.

Reika felt a bit uneasy as Raizo tried to intimidate her, but she wasn't going to back down so soon. "All right, tough guy! You want to play the hardboiled cop with me? That's fine; I'll play along...for now. But I'm warning you, I don't take shit from anyone and I can hold my own in a fight. So don't you push me!" Reika shot back. "Is that so?" Raizo replied. "Yeah!" Reika nodded. Raizo smirked as he tossed out his cigarette; maybe this woman wouldn't be as bad as he thought. "All right then! I'll hold you up to that, Reika." Raizo smirked as he offered her a cigarette. "Oh, so you do know my name? You still haven't told me yours, studboy!" Reika giggled as she accepted the cigarette.

Raizo chuckled at her as he lit up her cigarette. "You can call me what everyone else does; Raizo." Raizo said. Reika blew out smoke before she spoke up again. "I like that name...it's got a nice ring to it." Reika said honestly while she smoked. Suddenly, a crashing noise was heard. "Huh? What the hell was that?!" Reika exclaimed. "Oh! It's probably Goofy messing around here somewhere; he's all right...you know, for a toon." Raizo answered. Reika looked at him with a dark expression as he said that. "What's wrong with toons? I mean, I'm no Snow White or Cinderella, but-" Reika began.

Raizo immediately felt stupid for what he said. "Oh! I didn't mean anything by that, you know! It's just that-" Raizo exclaimed. "It's fine; I get it. They grate on your nerves sometimes...trust me, I know!" Reika said as she continued to smoke. "Especially the ones that won't leave your house...or take their damn humanization pill!" Raizo muttered. "Right. So...what's our case? You said something about a murder, right?" Reika said after she tossed her cigarette away. "Yeah; an anime toon woman was murdered last night. Her decapitated head was left on our front step!" Raizo said grimly.

Reika grew wide eyed as he said that. "Oh my God! That's awful...what sort of sick monster would do such a thing?!" Reika exclaimed. "I don't know, but we're going to find out. You mark my words!" Raizo said as he clenched his fists. As he finished speaking, Goofy approached him. "Hiya there, Raizo! Mr. Roland says you need to meet him over at his office." Goofy announced in a friendly tone. "All right, I'll be there in a minute." Raizo replied. "Well, I guess it's off to work we go. Let's get going!" Reika said as she hopped off the desk.

As she walked away, she swayed her hips in a saucy manner, hoping to catch Raizo's eye. Raizo did notice, but not in the way she had hoped. "Ugh...it's too fucking early for this shit!" Raizo grumbled. "Huh? What's the matter, Raizo? Did you forget your coffee this morning?" Goofy asked in confusion. "What? Oh, no...I'm fine, thanks!" Raizo said as he shook his head.

As Raizo finally arrived at the office, he saw Roland and Reika at a large table with large books laid out. "We'll start with this book; it has every known toon available. I'm sure we'll find her in here somewhere." Roland announced. "Ok. Let me see here...well, here are all the Disney toons. There's Mickey, Donald, Goofy-" Raizo began. "That's me; I remember like it was just yesterday!" Goofy said happily. "Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella...ugh!" Raizo groaned. "What?" Reika asked. "It's those...dwarves! Ugh; repulsive little creatures! The less said about them, the better!" Raizo grumbled in disgust as he pointed to the 7 Dwarves. "They're not so bad once you get to know them...except Grumpy! He's, well...you know." Goofy pointed out. "Hmm...I see a dark skinned princess right here, but she's not the one I met the other night." Raizo said as he pointed towards a young black woman in a yellow dress holding a frog.

Roland chuckled as he pointed her out. "Hard to believe that she used to work at the old diner across the street before she became royalty." Roland said. "You know her?" Raizo asked in surprise. "Yeah; her name is Tiana, I think. Her father used to run that diner before he passed away. I guess she took over before she had her happily ever after." Roland explained. "Well, at least I know some people are willing to work hard for their lifelong goals and not complain about it!" Raizo muttered. Reika then took a turn and looked over at the Disney Villains. "I think I've seen her somewhere before; she works at a bar, right?" Reika asked as she pointed to a large tentacled sea witch. "Ursula? Yeah, she owns the _Rotten Clam_. She's an informant of mine. She's helped me before in the past, but her personality is still the same as it was when I first met her." Raizo said with a chuckle. "She has a sister, doesn't she? Morgana, I think." Roland said. "And this pirate character?" Reika asked as she pointed.

Raizo laughed, confusing Kitami. "That would be Captain Hook; if you can believe it, he's married to Ursula now." Raizo said. "Wait, what?! He's married to that fat, tentacled freak?!" Reika exclaimed in shock. "Kitami!" Roland scolded. "No, it's all right. I'm still trying to figure out what those two see in each other." Raizo joked. "Well, maybe they both know something that we should all learn." Roland said seriously. "Wait...who's that?" Reika asked with a shudder. "That monstrosity is known as Chernabog; I've had a few run-ins with him before. Out of all the other toon villains, he's one of the toughest I've dealt with...but he's one that I respect." Raizo admitted. "Why?" Reika asked.

Raizo grew silent as she said that; he couldn't get into it with her right now, could he? "Let's just focus on finding the girl, all right?" Roland suggested as he tried to change the subject. "Yes, let's!" Raizo heartily agreed. As they turned the page and browsed through the Loony Toons characters, Raizo grew frustrated. "Damn it; she's nowhere to be found here!" Raizo growled. "Although there are quite a lot of racially insensitive characters if I do say so myself!" Roland muttered. "Well, what do you expect from those guys? They're Warner Bros!" Goofy said angrily. "I'm sensing some hostility from you, dog!" Reika chuckled. "Ooh, those Loony Toons make me mad! They set a terrible example for kids; have you seen how violent their cartoons are?" Goofy said in exasperation. "Hey, come on...kids love that shit!" Raizo argued. "Raizo!" Roland scolded.

As they turned the page to the Anime section, Reika seemed to know a bit more about some of these characters. "I recognize that girl; that's Tsukino Usagi, or Sailor Moon as some call her. I'm not sure what the other girl's names are, but I do know that they possess the power of celestial beings." Reika explained as she pointed to the Sailor Soldiers. "And who are those guys? The ones with the giant mecha units?" Raizo asked. "I'm not sure; but their mecha units are called Gundam, I think. Or Zoids...or, Evas. I don't know; there's a lot of fucking giant robots from Anime City." Reika replied. "Those girls sure look pretty; who are they?" Goofy asked with a bashful chuckle. "Ah! I remember those guys. Angel Blade! (Giggles naughtily) I remember I had some ***** fun ***** with those girls awhile ago. I haven't heard from them since then, though." Reika said with a sneaky grin.

Raizo rolled his eyes before he turned the page and found a page of toons labeled a Comics. "Well, this is the last page. If she's not here, then we're not gonna find her so easily. "Hey, look! There's Charlie Brown...I heard he finally made it big in the Football Leagues!" Goofy said as he pointed to the Peanuts' character. "Good for him; about time something good happened in his life!" Roland said. "Who's the fat cat with the lasagna?" Reika asked. "That'd be Garfield. He maybe a lazy slug of a character, but he's a got heart!" Raizo answered. "And there's Archie. And Blondie...and Dilbert...and Marmaduke." Roland pointed out. "Having one of those nostalgic moments, are we?" Raizo teased. "Shut up!" Roland snapped.

Reika gasped as she caught sight of a frightening looking monster lurking in a dark corner at the top of the page. "Oh my God! What is that demon right there? It's horrible!" Reika exclaimed as she pointed. Raizo looked at what she was talking about and sighed heavily. The monster she spoke of was a Hellspawn from the Todd McFarlane universe, and he held a bloody decapitated head of a demon in one hand and his Agony Axe in the other. "Someone who wasn't having a good day!" Raizo simply said with a sad expression on his face. "It wasn't a good day for anyone!" Roland said out loud, catching Raizo's attention. "Hey...there's Batman and Superman; they're finally getting along now!" Goofy said as he caught sight of the two titular heroes in the center of the page.

Raizo sighed as he took a step back and appeared to give up. "Shit! We looked everywhere in those pages and not a single sign of her; just who is this girl?!" Raizo exclaimed in frustration. "Why don't we see if that necklace she had on has any clues. If there's any symbols in the necklace, I'm sure we can find it in the Toon Book of Symbols." Roland suggested. "All right, good idea!" Raizo said a bit more calmly. As Roland handed Raizo the necklace, he sighed sadly as he observed the necklace before he opened the specific book they needed. But as they opened it up, Raizo cursed. "Shit! I can't read any of this; it's all gibberish!" Raizo growled. "Patience, studboy...I can help!" Reika said as she sauntered her way over.

As she looked at the book, she laughed. "It's basic Latin, you two! Don't you silly men know anything?" Reika playfully jabbed. "Don't overdo it, Kitami!" Raizo growled. "Enough! All right, so...what does that say right there?" Roland asked as he pointed to a symbol. "It says...property of the House of...Sonic." Reika translated. "Sonic? You mean like the hedgehog?!" Raizo exclaimed. "He probably wrote that in himself!" Reika suggested with a shrug before she turned the page. "And what about that symbol?" Roland asked. "It's the mark of the...Black Cauldron." Reika read carefully. "Hmm...not quite what we're looking for!" Roland said. "Hey, wait...this looks familiar. It looks like a...like a gargoyle!" Raizo pointed out. "Yup! It's apparently an ancient rune explaining the rise and fall of gargoyles of the medieval ages. You know any of these guys too, Raizo?" Reika said half-jokingly. "As a matter of fact...yeah, I do know a few of them." Raizo said as he nodded.

After a few more minutes of browsing through the book, Raizo finally found the matching symbol he needed. "There! That's the one; what does that one say? Anything about a name or a history or family?" Raizo asked as he pointed out. "Oh! That's...an odd one. I'm not ever sure I've heard of this one before...Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose?" Reika read out loud in confusion. "Black Magic? This seems to be right up your alley, Kitami." Roland said. Reika glared at him as he said that, but deep down she knew he was right. "Well, let's see here. It basically explains that witchcraft includes the art of Tarot reading, scrying, ceremonial magic, potion making...basically shit we already know about witchcraft. It goes on and on about a bunch of deities and mythological beings. But it doesn't say anything about any names!" Reika explained.

Raizo slammed his fist in anger after she finished. "DAMN IT!" Raizo shouted. "Oh!" Reika exclaimed. "Raizo!" Roland cried. "What is her fucking name?! All we have is a necklace and even that won't tell us much!" Raizo said angrily. "All right, calm down! I'm sure there must be something we can do. Someone out there must know about this necklace!" Roland began. Suddenly, the phone rang. "Oh! I better go get that. Hold on!" Roland said as he approached the phone. "I'm going over to the Magic Mirror. Maybe he'll know something about this necklace...or at the very least, the last person who wore it." Raizo announced. "You've got a magic mirror, too? Ha! This place does have everything!" Reika said to herself.

While Roland talked on the phone, Raizo and Reika approached the Magic Mirror, which was on the other side of the office. "Hey, Mirror! Wake up; I've gotta question to ask you!" Raizo announced. At first, there was no answer. "Hey! Mirror, wake up!" Raizo cried. Finally, the mirror started to glow bright green before an animated face appeared. "Now, now...you know the rule!" the Mirror scolded. "Grr...I don't have time for this shit!" Raizo grumbled. "You are cold, callous, and needlessly cruel...but you have some level of respect for the Golden Rule." the Mirror stated.

Reika looked at Raizo, who in turn sighed impatiently. "Fine! Mirror, Mirror...please make this soon...can you tell me all about this toon?" Raizo asked. "See? Was that so hard?" the Mirror sneered. "You're about two seconds from being smashed into pixie dust!" Raizo threatened. "There's no need for threats! So out of all toons who come and go, which one do you wish to know?" the Mirror wondered. "Actually...I was hoping you'd know anything about this necklace." Raizo stated as he showed the necklace.

The Mirror grew offended as Raizo asked that. "Hmph! You're better off heading to a pawn shop. Even you know better than that, you hardboiled cop!" the Mirror snorted. "You know what?!" Raizo snarled. "Stop it! Let me have a go at this; Mirror, Mirror...if you would, is there anyone who use this in their neighborhood?" Reika suggested. "Ah, well it's nice to see that some people are more patient...unfortunately, my vision is clear and transparent!" the Mirror said more politely. "And what the hell does that mean?" Raizo demanded. "It means that you only ask of toons or people I know, because inanimate objects are a no-go!" the Mirror stated. "Damn it...it figures!" Raizo grumbled as he walked away.

Roland approached them with a serious look on his face. "Raizo? Reika? We have a problem that needs immediate attention." Roland began. "Oh, great! Just what we need; more shit to shovel!" Raizo growled. "Thank you, Magic Mirror. That will be all for now!" Reika said as she bowed her head. "Thank you for your manners and consideration! Maybe next time, Raizo will show more cooperation!" the Mirror said before he fell dormant. "I just got a call from Sonic. He said that he's in trouble and he needs to talk with you right away." Roland explained. "What does he want this time?" Raizo said to himself as he grabbed the phone. "Hey! Raizo, are you there?" Sonic exclaimed fearfully.

Raizo sighed as he nodded his head. "Sonic! Are you on your pill yet?" Raizo asked gruffly. "Yeah, yeah...it's fine! Listen to me; there's someone upstairs going through Pete's stuff. I don't know what he wants or-wait, hang on. What? No! HEY!" Sonic cried before the phone hung up. "Everything all right?" Reika asked. "Sonic sounds like he's in trouble! Maybe this can wait!" Raizo said as he put the necklace down on Roland's desk. "Perfect; that'll give Kitami the chance to go out on the field with you. You go take care of Sonic and I'll stay here and try to find out anymore information on our mystery girl." Roland instructed. "Sounds good to me!" Reika said with a smile. "Hey, kid? Don't worry...we're gonna find that bastard and we'll make things right for this girl; you can count on that!" Roland said with a sincere smile.

Raizo sighed as he whipped out another cigarette and lit it up. "I hope so!" he said before he smoked.


	4. The Investigation Begins!

**Chapter 4: The Investigation Begins!**

* * *

 ***College: Secret Romance plays!***

As Raizo and Reika rode a cab to the other side of the city, they took the time to try and get to know each other better. "So, uh...how long have you been working for the TPP?" Reika began. "Oh, I've been working for this group for over 15 years. Though honestly, I still have no clue what to think of these damn toons!" Raizo admitted. "15 years?! You don't really look that old to me!" Reika exclaimed in surprise. "Um, gee thanks! I'll take that as a compliment!" Raizo retorted. "Oh! I didn't mean to offend you...it's just that, a good looking young man like yourself just-" Reika began as she began blushing madly.

Raizo just stared at her, causing Reika to grow silent and blush with embarrassment before they both turned away from each other. " _Damn it! I'm so embarrassed; come on, girl! You can do better than that!_ " Reika thought bitterly. Raizo noticed her embarrassment and smirked as he tried to turn this around. "How about we start again? Why don't you tell me what a woman like you is doing working for the TPP? You didn't have to, but you chose to anyway. Mind telling me what that's about?" Raizo began. Reika sighed as she shook her head. "Well, if you must know...I'm not exactly as clean cut as you'd expect. I've gotten my hands dirty before and I know how to handle myself." Reika said a bit more angrily.

Raizo started to laugh, making the witch more frustrated. "What's so funny?!" Reika demanded. "Nothing! Look, I get it. You got stuff you don't want to talk about? That's fine by me. I'm not forcing you to do anything...I just wanted to get to know the real you, that's all!" Raizo said as he lit up a cigarette. Reika frowned as he said that. "The real me?" she repeated. "Yeah. Like...where you come from and that sort of thing." Raizo said. Reika grew upset as he said that.

She had a strong feeling that Raizo wouldn't like the real her if she told him. "You know what? Forget it! There's nothing to tell, really." Reika said impatiently. "All right, fine! Have it your way; I was only trying to make casual conversation, that's all!" Raizo snapped back. "You always talk this way to your partners, tough guy?" Reika retorted. "Well, now that you mention it-" Raizo began before he shut up.

Reika sighed impatiently as she shook her head, but deep down she knew that sooner or later she'd have to tell him the truth. " _I just hope that he doesn't judge me like everyone else. For now, I guess I better just keep quiet and focus on my job._ " Reika thought.

Just as Reika thought about that, Raizo had his own thoughts. " _Why did Roland stick this woman with me? If this is another attempt to try and get me into dating...ugh, nevermind! Still, there's something about this woman I can't put my finger on._ " Raizo thought.

 ***Song ends!***

As the cab finally slowed down to a stop, both Raizo and Reika stepped out into the streets before they made their way towards their destination. As they approached the tenement buildings, Reika gasped as she saw the collateral damage that Raizo had caused last night. Raizo sighed as he palmed himself as he observed the damage he and Pete caused; it looked much worse in the day. "God damn, Raizo! What the hell did you do?!" Reika exclaimed. "Ugh...the paperwork for this is gonna be a real bitch!" Raizo grumbled as he took a drag from his cigarette. "Well? You gonna tell me what happened or what? It looks this place was hit by a wrecking ball!" Reika said with a slight laugh.

Raizo sighed as he began to explain to her about last night. He told her about the call Sonic gave him about Pete's drunken antics, the anime toon woman who was being attacked by him, and the fight he and Pete had. "And when we fell out of the window, we landed on Sonic's car. He's probably bitching about it still right now. Can't say where Pete went afterwards, though. I just hope for his sake he hasn't caused anymore trouble!" Raizo finished explaining. "Jesus! I sure hope they've got insurance for this!" Reika said as she shook her head.

Raizo rolled his eyes in annoyance as he threw out his cigarette, when he suddenly noticed something odd. He saw someone upstairs in Pete's apartment, and he looked like he was rummaging through the wreckage. "Huh? HEY! What are you doing up there?!" Raizo called out. The figure quickly turned around and appeared to look shocked before he took off running, prompting Raizo to run into the tenement building to try and find them. "Wait, there!" Raizo called out to Reika before he entered inside the building.

But as Raizo made his way upstairs to Pete's apartment, the mysterious figure was gone. "Shit!" Raizo cursed. Raizo then approached the huge hole in the wall and looked down at Reika, shaking his head. Reika shrugged her shoulders before she entered the building. But just as Raizo was about to leave Pete's apartment, he stepped on something. "Huh? What's this?" Raizo wondered out loud before he knelt down and picked it up. It appeared to be a candy wrapper of some sort; it smelled sweet, like Jolly Ranchers. "Hmm...it's still fresh. I wonder if-" Raizo began before the sound of someone shouting was heard from down below. "That's enough! Just keep it quiet, it's over now!" an elderly man's voice shouted. "I'm sorry, Papa!" a little boy's voice sobbed.

As Raizo went back downstairs, the sounds of sobbing filled the air. "Hey, Raizo? Who's crying? Is that somebody's kid?" Reika wondered. "Yeah...I think it might be Fievel Mousekewitz. I didn't know that he lived on this side of the city." Raizo replied. "Mousekewitz?" Reika said out loud in confusion. "From An American Tail. They're Russian Immigrants as far as I know. But what are they doing here in Sonic's apartment?" Raizo said.

Speak of the devil, he heard Sonic's voice from inside the apartment. "I freaked out, ok?! What else was I supposed to do?" Sonic was heard yelling. "You could have gotten us killed, you idiot! What happens when they find out?!" an elderly woman's voice scolded. "Mama, don't be hard on him! He was only trying to help!" a younger girl's voice said innocently. "I said shut it, Tanya! I do not want to hear another word of this; I can handle it!" Papa Mousekewitz snapped. "You'll handle it?! You nearly got yourself killed by that...that...that miserable thug!" Mama Mousekewitz cried. "Come on, guys! Don't fight; you're making things worse!" Tails scolded.

Raizo and Reika looked at each other before they nodded. "Something's going on. We better get to the bottom of this!" Reika said. "Yeah...no shit!" Raizo said before Reika touched his chest, surprising him. "Hey...try to be gentle, ok? They sound scared." Reika suggested calmly. "We'll see, Reika." Raizo said as he removed her hand, offending her. Raizo knocked on the door firmly and loudly enough to get their attention. "Hey, Mousekewitz! Open up; it's the TPP!" Raizo called out.

Almost immediately, the door opened up and revealed the Mousekewitz family along with Sonic and Tails. "Shh! Let me do the talking!" Papa Mousekewitz shushed before he approached Raizo. "Greetings, friend! How can I, a humble mouse, help on this fine and lovely morning?" Papa announced casually. "Yeah, you can start by telling me why you're here in Sonic's apartment!" Raizo replied with a growl. "Oh, it's the old wrecking ball himself! They were just helping me fix up the place; you know, after last night." Sonic snapped as he crossed his arms.

Raizo glared at him, making Sonic nervous. "Ok, look...I'm sorry, all right? It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but I thought that I, uh...we, uh-" Sonic began with a stutter. "We thought that we heard someone upstairs, that's all. It turns out that there wasn't though, last time I checked!" Papa Mousekewitz finished. "Actually, there was somebody upstairs. But they left before I could catch them." Raizo said. "Ah, is that right? Well, what do you know? I guess your dear old Papa still has a few years left in his hearing after all!" Papa Mousekewitz chuckled.

Reika stepped in to see what was going on, earning a few surprised looks from the toons. "Oh, and who might you be?" Mama Mousekewitz asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm Reika Kitami; I'm Raizo's new partner. Is everything all right with you guys? We heard someone was crying. Is anyone hurt?" Reika asked after she introduced herself. "Who, Fievel? Oh, don't you worry dearie! He's just fine; he just stubbed his little toe, that's all." Mama Mousekewitz replied. "Yes! He's a bit of a clumsy walker, just like his Papa!" Papa Mousekewitz added. "Well, it sure has been nice meeting you and all, but I guess you guys will be leaving right about now. There's nothing going on here anyways, so-" Sonic began.

Raizo stepped towards him, giving him a dark look. "I'll leave when I'm good and ready." he growled. Sonic gulped nervously as he began to sweat. "Raizo just means that we want to make sure everything is all right with you guys, that's all." Reika said as she gave Raizo a look of her own. "Um, yeah...after all, you are the one who called us. So, just tell me what happened and then we'll leave." Raizo said a bit more calmly. "I, uh...look, I already told you that nothing is going on, ok? Besides, it's like you said. The person you saw took off before you even got there, so there's no need to stick around here. Right guys?" Sonic said nervously as he looked at his toon friends.

Raizo sighed as he shook his head. "All right, fine! You wanna play this game with me? That's fine; but I will find out the truth one way or another." Raizo said as he walked into the living room. "What?! But I-" Sonic began. "Say, Mama? Why don't you make our guests some tea and biscuits?" Papa Mousekewitz suggested as he gave her a strange look. "Huh? Oh, but of course! Let's treat our guests, shall we my dear Tanya? Why don't you get the good china?" Mama Mousekewitz said. "Um, ok Mama. Sure; whatever you say." Tanya said as she decided to play along.

At this point, Sonic knew better than to argue. "All right, fine! Sure; go ahead and have some tea...or whatever the hell you want!" he grumbled as he walked into the living room where Raizo was. Reika noticed that Fievel was still upset and she decided to try and cheer him up. "Hey, come here little boy. I want to talk to you." Reika began as she knelt down to his level. At first, Fievel didn't want to. "It's all right, honey. I won't hurt you." Reika insisted. "Now, Fievel. You behave yourself and mind your manners!" Mama Mousekewitz scolded as she arrived in the living room with a pot of tea.

Reika smiled as she got an idea. "I have an idea. Why don't you show me your room? You have any favorite toys you'd like to show me?" Reika suggested. Fievel looked up at her and smiled shyly. "I have a new toy soldier to my collection." he said finally. "Cool! Why don't you show me the rest of your collection as well?" Reika asked. "Ok. Come on; my room is this way!" Fievel said with more excitement in his voice. "All right. Lead the way, boy!" Reika said as she looked over at Raizo.

As Reika went into Fievel's room, Raizo stared at Sonic as he sat down on a couch. "What?" Sonic demanded. "Fievel's room? I thought that this was your house?" Raizo stated. "Oh, yeah...about that! These guys are just spending the week here, that's all." Sonic began. "Really?" Raizo said as he crossed his arms. "Uh, yeah! There's nothing that says that they can't, is there? Look...things are a little hard on us toons, all right? These guys are just gonna stay here until they get their little feet off the ground, that's all." Sonic explained. "Well, how noble of you. Are they paying rent?" Raizo pressed. "What? Oh, come on I couldn't-" Sonic began. "Because if I remember correctly, you still have to be able to afford your humanization pills. Remember that talk we had last night?" Raizo said sternly.

Before Sonic could answer, Mama Mousekewitz arrived with a plate full of biscuits. "Biscuits are ready!" Mama Mousekewitz announced. "Thanks. So...you two known each other long?" Raizo asked the Mousekewitz couple as he humorously sipped tea out of the tiny china tea cup. "Oh, we've known each other for years. It seems just like yesterday when we first met, right Papa?" Mama Mousekewitz said with dreamy sigh. "Ah, yes! I'll never forget our first date. It was such a beautiful summer evening. The trees were still green, the moon was full, and the fireflies lit up the little dirt path that rode into town. You remember that Mama?" Papa Mousekewitz recalled as he sipped some tea. "Oh, I do!" Mama Mousekewitz said before she rambled on about their date.

But as she spoke, Raizo noticed that something was out of place. And by out of place, there was a lamp all smashed up on the floor over by the entrance. Raizo knew it was there when he walked in, but he chose not to say anything about it yet. But now was his chance. "So...you mind telling me about that broken lamp over there? It looks pretty expensive!" Raizo said out loud casually yet sarcastically. "What? Oh, shit...I told Tails to clean that up hours ago! I can't believe he forgot about that." Sonic said quickly. "How'd that happen?" Raizo asked. "Oh, uh...it fell off the table." Sonic lied.

Raizo stared at him as he said that. "Really? It just fell off the table?" Raizo challenged. "Or maybe one of the kids knocked it down when they were playing around. Who knows?" Sonic chuckled weakly. Raizo stood up from the couch and began looking around the living room for more clues. "Uh, what are you doing exactly?" Sonic wondered. Raizo noticed that a coffee table had a big dust ring around, and as he closely observed it, he looked over at the lamp before he looked back at Sonic. "Sonic...can you come here please?" Raizo asked sternly.

Sonic begrudgingly did as he was told, knowing what to expect next. "What? Did I forget to take out the trash? Did I leave the kitchen sink running?!" Sonic snapped. "Sonic...I have a feeling that lamp of yours was over here. But now, it's over there in pieces. Just tell me what happened." Raizo said trying his best to not lose his cool. "Nothing happened, dude. NOTHING! And why of all the crazy ideas would the lamp be here?!" Sonic cried angrily. "Because the size of the mark on the table matches the shape of the bottom of the lamp. That, and there aren't any outlets left for the lamp over at that table over there." Raizo pointed out.

Papa Mousekewitz stood up and approached Raizo. "Excuse me, but I have an explanation. The truth is...it's my fault. I was doing a bit of dusting and I meant to plug the lamp in over there. But before I realized there weren't any outlets left, Mr. Hedgehog here bumped into me and it was knocked down into the ground. Isn't that right, Mr. Hedgehog?" Papa Mousekewitz explained as he gave Sonic a look. "Huh? Uh, I mean...yeah! That's exactly how it happened. I was in such a rush to try to fix the chandeliers, that I wasn't looking where I was going. Heh! Funny how that all works, doesn't it?" Sonic said.

Raizo sighed as he shook his head, but decided to let it go...for now. "Fine. If that's how it happened, then that's how it happened." he said before he caught sight of something. He noticed there was a blood stain on the wall next to the fireplace, and right in front of the fireplace was a fire poker. The tip of the fire poker was covered in blood. Raizo looked to both Sonic and Papa Mousekewitz, who both looked guilty as hell. "Are any of you bleeding? I've found some blood over here." Raizo announced. "Oh, yeah...about that! You see, last night I was cold, so I decided to try to start up the fireplace. But I tripped and had the poker fall right on my foot. It hurt like hell, you know." Sonic quickly explained. "Sounds painful." Raizo said sarcastically. "Hey, now...don't go Mother Hubbard on me!" Sonic teased.

As Raizo further inspected the poker, he noticed that the blood on it was still fresh. When he approached the stain on the wall, he noticed that the blood there was also fresh. "You said this happened last night? It's still pretty fresh. Just tell me the truth, all right? What really happened?" Raizo asked firmly. "I'm telling you the truth; after I cut my hand, I rushed around trying to find a Band-Aid. It was dark and I couldn't see, so maybe that explains the stain on the wall. I meant to clean it, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet!" Sonic lied. "Wait...I thought you said that you cut your foot." Raizo said as he caught Sonic in a lie. "Huh? Uh, yeah! I did cut my foot, but I cut my hand first! I was poking the coals, I sliced my hand open and then I dropped the damn thing on my foot!" Sonic blurted out nervously.

Raizo shook his head as he dropped the fire poker and approached him. "I don't think that's what happened. If you ask me, I think somebody was attacked. And I don't know why you or your little friends here would cover for it." Raizo began. "Raizo, I-" Sonic began. "And you're going to make things worse if you keep it up with this act of yours!" Raizo continued as he rose his voice. "I'm not lying to you; honest!" Sonic pleaded. "We'll see about that!" Raizo growled before he approached Fievel's room.

After he knocked on the door, Reika answered it. "And that's why they're called Redcoats!" Fievel blabbered on. "Uh-huh, interesting. Excuse me a moment, will you? Did you find out anything?" Reika asked. "They're hiding something; I don't know what it is, but I'm going to find out. Did the kid say anything?" Raizo said. "He did say something about being kicked out of their house. That, and I noticed that he had an awful burn mark on his arm." Reika whispered. "Hmm...I figured something was going on. Stay here with the kid until I figure this shit out; it won't take long!" Raizo instructed before he closed the door.

After Raizo finished speaking with Reika, he approached Sonic in an aggressive manner. He was sick and tired of playing games with him. "All right, Sonic. No more bullshit! I don't care if these mice are involved or not, but I know for a fact that you aren't being square with me. So do me a favor and skip to the end of the page before I have to get mean!" Raizo growled. "I don't know what you want from me, Raizo. I've told you everything that happened, but you don't believe me. Just take a look around and see for yourself!" Sonic argued. "Honestly, I don't think that I will...because I'm not so sure that I have any more fucking patience left to put up with whatever bullshit scheme this is!" Raizo snarled.

Sonic grew very afraid of Raizo's intimidating anger, as did the Mousekewitz couple. "Now, now...let's not lose our temper, ok? Come, now...let's all just take a deep breath and-" Papa Mousekewitz began. "Shut up! Sonic...tell me what's going on...right now!" Raizo demanded as he got in his face. "Dude...there are kids in the other room. Come on, just calm down and let's talk about this ok? We're all friends here, right?" Sonic whimpered as Raizo began growling angrily in his face.

Suddenly, Raizo slapped Sonic in the face and made him cry out in pain. "OW! Jesus, that freakin' hurt!" Sonic complained. "You're going to tell me, right now, what the fuck happened before we left!" Raizo growled. "Raizo, I-" Sonic began before he was slapped again. "And if it even has the faintest whiff of bullshit, I'm gonna-" Raizo began. "Papa!" Fievel cried. Raizo turned around to find a frightened Fievel with tears in his eyes and a very upset and outraged Reika Kitami standing next to him. As Fievel ran to his parents for comfort, Reika approached Raizo with anger written on her face. "What the hell, Raizo? Is this really necessary?!" Reika exclaimed. "They're hiding something, Kitami! I don't know what it is, but I will not fuck around anymore! I'm through playing guessing games!" Raizo snapped.

As he said that, Mama Mousekewitz gasped as she saw blood pouring from behind her husband's head. "Oh my God! Papa, you're hurt!" Mama Mousekewitz exclaimed. "Take off your hat." Raizo instructed firmly. As Papa Mousekewitz removed his hat, he startled everyone as they saw a nasty bloody wound on the back of his head. Reika glared at Raizo as she saw this. "Did you just-" she seethed. "Calm yourself, woman! He didn't do it...it was some nasty thug that came here earlier! Probably that _podonok_ you saw earlier!" Papa Mousekewitz cursed as Mama Mousekewitz cleaned his wound.

As Tails entered the room, he looked over at Sonic, who in turn sighed as he shook his head. They knew that they'd have to tell the truth eventually. "Look...the Mousekewitz family needed a place to stay after they got evicted, so we offered them a place to stay." Tails explained. "You see? I didn't make that part up! That crazy bastard just busted into our house when we're trying to have a nice breakfast and beat the hell out of me and Papa over there." Sonic added. "Aye, it's true! He kept demanding about Pete...or something he thought Pete had. But worst of all, that...that...that little _khuyesos_ burned my little Fievel with a cigarette when I insisted that I didn't have anything he wanted!" Papa Mousekewitz cried out with shaking fury.

Reika gasped as he said that; now she knew how Fievel got the burn mark. "That's awful; I'm so sorry to hear that." Reika said mournfully. "Do you know what it is that they wanted?" Raizo pressed as if he didn't care about Fievel's wellbeing. "I haven't the foggiest clue, boy!" Papa Mousekewitz snapped. "Look, we wanted to tell you. Really, we did. But they threatened us into silence!" Sonic said more serious than ever before. "Yes, it's true. That thug said that if word ever got out that we said anything about this...he would come back and kill my family!" Papa Mousekewitz explained sadly. "We even tried to give that creep the girl's dress. But he wouldn't take it!" Sonic added.

This immediately caught Raizo's attention. "Wait, what? What girl?!" Raizo demanded. "You know...the girl...from the other night. Apparently she left a dress here some time ago." Sonic said. "Mr. Hedgehog borrows things from people. Oh! Uh...I mean, only sometimes?" Fievel said as Sonic gave him a dirty look. "Borrows?" Raizo said angrily. "Look! I don't steal anything...I just repossess what's been left behind; you'd be surprised by how much crap people leave behind." Sonic insisted. "Well, we're confiscating that dress! It's not only evidence, but if she has any kin left behind-" Raizo said sternly. "Fine! Tails? Go grab the dress, will you?" Sonic pouted.

As Tails walked over to the fireplace, he pulled out a cardboard box and placed it on the coffee table before pulling out a dress. Raizo and Reika gasped as they saw it. "Oh my God!" Raizo gasped. "I know...it's such a shame; it's a beautiful dress. I can't believe anyone would want to leave that behind!" Tanya Mousekewitz said. "I've seen this dress before." Raizo exclaimed. "Yeah...didn't one of those Disney Princesses wear that exact dress? We gotta take it back to Roland and run some tests on it or something!" Reika said. "Good idea, Reika. I think I've got some questions for the Mirror as well." Raizo replied. "Hey, wait! What's that?" Tails cried as he found something in the dress.

Reika took it out and observed the object; it was a sealed envelope. "Hmm...Raizo, what should we do about this? Should we-" Reika began before Raizo took it from her and opened it. As Raizo opened up the note, he read only three words written in black ink. "I'm sorry!~Tiana." Raizo read out loud. "Tiana?! So it's true; it's the Frog Princess!" Reika exclaimed. "Tiana? Huh...that's kinda weird. If she is one of those Disney Princesses, she's probably got a place over at the New Side." Sonic said. "The New Side? Where's that?" Raizo asked. "It's where all the rich guys live; I'm kinda surprised you don't live there. But then again, it is _you_ we're talking about." Sonic sneered. "I know where it is. Come on, Kitami. Let's get moving; we might find some more clues over there." Raizo instructed.

As they walked towards the door, Fievel Mousekewitz tugged on Reika's dress. "Oh! Um, are you ok boy?" Reika asked as she gently brushed his hand away. "Uh-huh! Listen, um...thanks for spending time with me. You're a really nice lady." Fievel said shyly. Reika felt her heart melt as he said that. " _Aww! Why does he have to sound so cute when he says that?!_ " she thought bitterly. "Thank you, honey. You be good, ok?" Reika said with a blush and smile. "Ok. See you later!" Fievel said cutely as he waved goodbye.

As Raizo and Reika left the tenement building, Raizo lit up a cigarette. But as he smoked, Reika glared at him angrily before she spoke up about his behavior. "What the fuck is wrong with you?! I...I don't even know what to say to you right now! The way you treated them back there...is this something that we're gonna have to talk about?" Reika began sternly. Raizo glared back at her before he tossed his cigarette away. "Let's get one thing straight, lady. I'm not being paid to babysit a bunch of doodles or waste my time playing their fucking games. My job is to catch the murderous scumbag responsible for this toon woman's death by any means necessary! If you don't like the way I do things, then you have one of two options." Raizo began. "And what's that?" Reika demanded. "Either you grow a pair and shut up, or you can fuck off and go find another job that better suits you. You got that?" Raizo snarled.

Reika crossed her arms and glared at him as he said that. "I don't have a problem getting my hands dirty, if that's what concerns you. But what I won't tolerate is if you hurt innocent people." Reika stated. Raizo sighed as he shook his head and rubbed his face. "Look...we got what we came here for, all right? Information! If it makes you feel any better, that was actually me being nice." Raizo said trying not to lose his cool again. "Well I'd certainly hate to see you get mean!" Reika snapped. "Whatever. Let's get going; we're wasting time!" Raizo muttered as he began walking. Reika sighed impatiently as she shook her head; getting along with this guy was going to be harder than she thought.


	5. The Plot Thickens!

**Chapter 5: The Plot Thickens!**

* * *

As soon as Raizo and Reika took a cab to the New Side of town, they both began wondering where this case would lead them next. "Hey, Raizo?" Reika asked. "Yeah, what is it?" Raizo wondered. "I've been doing some thinking on the ride over here. It's about this case...there's something that's not sitting right with me." Reika began. "Yeah, I feel that way too. If there is a Disney Princess toon involved in all of this, then we've got ourselves a real problem." Raizo replied. "That isn't exactly what I meant, Raizo." Reika pointed out. "Then what did you mean?" Raizo demanded. "I meant that...you saw what happened to those toons back there, didn't you? The killer responsible for that woman's death has no regard for others and wouldn't hesitate to use force on innocent lives; including kids! Doesn't that bother you?!" Reika snapped.

Raizo couldn't help but think that she was right. Whoever attacked the Mousekewitz family obviously had an agenda, and wouldn't stop at anything to get what he wanted. "You're right, Kitami. If that bastard has no problem attacking children, then we really need to step up our game!" Raizo said after a moment of silence. "You got that right. So...what next? Do we even know where this Tiana of ours lives?" Reika said as she looked all around her.

This section of the city was huge; it hard large multi-story office buildings and lavish apartments, so finding out where Tiana used to live would be quite a challenge. "Give me a moment; I need to make a phonecall. Maybe Roland knows a thing or two!" Raizo suggested as he pulled out his cellphone. "Hey, Roland? You got a minute?" Raizo began. " _What is it, Raizo? Have you found out anything yet?_ " Roland replied anxiously. "Yeah...we need to find out where Tiana lives. We're in the New Side now; got any leads?" Raizo asked. " _Tiana? Who's she?_ " Roland demanded. "She's the Frog Princess from the Disney movie. I think that might be our girl...you know what I'm talking about!" Raizo stated firmly.

After a long moment of silence, Roland gave his answer. " _This is gonna be harder than I realized, old friend. All right, listen closely. Tiana has a brother that lives just around the corner of Acme Street, just next to Cinderella's Shoe Store. You should try asking him, but try to be gentle about how you question him, all right? We don't need anymore complications!_ " Roland instructed. "All right, Roland. Thanks for the tip!" Raizo said before he hung up. "So? Where do we go now?" Reika asked. "Right around the corner of Acme Street. Come on, let's go." Raizo answered.

After a short walk, they arrived at the apartment complex. It was nicer than the apartment complex Raizo lived in, due to the fact that each complex had it's own small front yard. "Well, here we are. Nice place!" Reika stated. "Yeah." Raizo sighed. "What's wrong, Raizo?" Reika asked as she grew concerned for him. "I'm really not looking forward to bringing the news to this guy." Raizo said as he lit up a cigarette. "Maybe I should talk to him." Reika suggested. "If you want to talk to him, be my guest. Besides...I can't help but shake the feeling that something is off here." Raizo said as he smoked. "What do you mean? Wait...you don't think he did it, do you?!" Reika wondered. "Nothing would surprise me at this point; you'd be surprised by how these murders get started. People will do anything for money!" Raizo said bitterly.

Reika grew grim as he said that. "I highly doubt this has anything to do with money, Raizo. Remember what happened to the Mousekewitz family! I don't think anyone who's obsessed with money would go to such lengths, if you get my meaning!" Reika said firmly. Raizo nodded as she said that; she had a good point. "All right, fine. What did you have in mind, then?" Raizo sighed impatiently. "We have to choose a plan and stick to it! All right, look. We're here on official TTP business and we're solving a murder. I'll question Tiana's brother while you look for clues." Reika stated as she lost her own patience. "Hmm...not a bad idea, actually. But what if he objects?" Raizo said. "We can be persuasive if necessary...or you can, actually." Reika replied. "All right, let's do it!" Raizo said as he tossed out his cigarette.

As Raizo and Reika approached the door, they noticed that it was cracked open. "What the hell? Everyone usually keeps their doors closed around here!" Raizo exclaimed. He and Reika looked at each other before they both nodded. Raizo burst through the door with Reika by his side, only to feel repulsed by an awful smell. "UGH! What the hell?!" Reika exclaimed. Raizo took a minute to adjust to the smell before he began to observe the scene. There was a blood stain on the wall right behind a chair, and in front of the chair was the apparent dead body of Tiana's brother with a gun right next to him. "Oh God! We're too late; that's another one!" Reika exclaimed.

Raizo approached the body and looked grimly at the body before he knelt down to observe him. But as he turned the body over, Raizo and Reika were given the shock of a lifetime. Despite the nasty bullet wound on his forehead, Tiana's brother was still alive! "Ohh...Tiana...please..." he moaned weakly. "Shit! Stay with me, man! Reika, go get a doctor now!" Raizo shouted. "No need, I'm a nurse. I can help him-" Reika began before Tiana's brother stopped her. "NO! Just...leave me...please!" he groaned. Tiana's brother began mumbling something that Raizo couldn't understand. "What? What are you saying?" Raizo urged. "Er...ugh...wa...waa-" he groaned.

Reika knelt down next to him and scooped his head up gently. "It's all right, take your time. What is it that you are trying to say?" Reika said more calmly. "Wa...waa...water!" Tiana's brother moaned. "Raizo? Go get some water from the kitchen; hurry!" Reika instructed. Raizo nodded and was immediately off to the kitchen. As he scrounged around for a cup, he caught sight of a newspaper article taped to the fridge. "What? What's this?! _Disney Princess has gone missing!_ No...can it be?" Raizo muttered. "Raizo! Have you found it yet?!" Reika called out.

A minute later, Raizo returned with a cup of water. As he handed it to Reika, she gently poured the water into Tiana's brother's mouth. "Thank...you!" he groaned. Reika looked up at Raizo with a deep sadness in her eyes; she knew that he wouldn't last much longer. "Raizo? If there's something you want to ask him...now would be a good time." Reika said seriously. Raizo nodded before he knelt down to the dying man's level. "Who did this to you?" Raizo asked. Tiana's brother smiled weakly before he spoke. "Tiana...Tiana...forgive me!" he said as he breathed his last.

Reika choked back a tear as she gently closed his eyes with her fingertips. As she finished with that, Reika looked up at Raizo. "Hon...you still have that letter?" Reika asked. "Yeah...here you go." Raizo answered as he handed it to her. "He died without seeing them. I'm...sorry!" Reika said sadly as she placed the letter in Tiana's brother's hands. As they both stood up, they sighed as they knew what needed to be done next. "We need to investigate this place quickly and quietly." Raizo said as he put his hands in his pocket. "Yeah. Raizo? Who did this to him? I just don't understand why anyone would want to kill him...or his sister for that matter!" Reika said grimly. "I don't know...but we'll find out soon enough!" Raizo replied just as grim.

The first thing Raizo was did was examine the gun. It was cheaply made .38 revolver, definitely something you'd find at a black market. "Hmm...that's strange." Raizo said. "What?" Reika wondered. "This gun looks like it's seen some use; you can tell just by looking at it. It's definitely not a registered weapon judging by its cheap looks. The boys back at HQ would refer to this a Saturday Night Special!" Raizo explained as he examined the gun. "I guess so, but what does that tell us about this?" Reika asked. "Fingerprints, honey. It's all about leaving a fingerprint...unless it's somehow untraceable! Roland can have someone look at it when we get back to HQ." Raizo explained.

As they looked around for more clues, they slowly discovered that there was something going on behind the scenes of Princess Tiana's life. Raizo first noticed this when he observed a broken picture of Tiana and her husband, the Frog Prince. "When do you think that was taken?" Reika asked. "Before all of this." Raizo simply stated. "You don't think he was jealous or anything, do you?" Reika asked seriously. "I don't think so; there was a newspaper article I found on the fridge saying that a Disney Princess went missing. It slipped my mind, but there was a report of a missing toon girl a while ago...I guess it must have slipped through the cracks." Raizo explained.

Reika shook her head as he said that. "Well, if there was nothing you could do before...you and I can definitely do something about it now!" she said. Raizo nodded his head when he suddenly stepped on something. "Huh? What the hell?! More blood...hmm, I wonder?" Raizo said as he followed the blood trail to a wooden closet. He opened the closet and was surprised to find a bed fall out in front of him. "Son of a bitch! Reika...come here; I found something!" Raizo called as he found a note on the bed. "What's it say?" Reika asked as she approached his side. "It says... _My dear sister, I'm so sorry for your loss. I can't imagine what it is you're going through. If I can, I will send some money over to you to help you get your feet back on the ground. Until then, send everyone my warmest regards. Love, your brother Trey!_ " Raizo read.

Reika looked over at Trey and sighed sadly. "Hopefully they're together now!" she said sadly. "That's about all we can hope for at this point!" Raizo said with disdain. As Raizo walked over towards another closet, he thought that he heard something. "Hmm? What's going on...is there-" Raizo said to himself before he carefully opened the closet. Suddenly, a tall and thin man in a brown coat burst out of the closet. It was Jasper from 101 Dalmatians, and he took off running through the front door. "Shit! Reika, stay here!" Raizo cried as he chased after the perpetrator. "What?! No!" Reika cried.

A few seconds later, Raizo chased after the suspicious man through an alley. "HEY! STOP!" Raizo shouted angrily. "Leave me alone, mate!" Jasper shouted back in a heavy British accent. As Jasper broke into another apartment complex, Raizo continued to chase after him. Jasper was seen running up a set of stairs, roughly pushing aside some bystanders. "Get outta my way!" Jasper shouted as he rudely pushed people away. "Hey, man!" a toon man cried. "Watch out, jerk!" a toon woman snapped. Raizo continued chasing after Jasper through the apartment complex, with Jasper resorting to dirty tactics to try and slow him down.

Jasper grabbed some pots and pans from Droopy, dressed as a wandering cook, and threw them at Raizo. "GAH! Damn you; stop that! Get back here, you asshole!" Raizo shouted as he hit multiple times. Jasper then burst through a door, causing several woman to scream. As Raizo continued after him, Jasper was seen trying to open a window. But just as Jasper opened the window and tried to crawl out, Raizo grabbed Jasper's legs, he tried to pull him back in. But Jasper was able to kick himself free before he crawled outside.

Raizo cursed as he went through the window and began chasing Jasper through the roof top. As Raizo chased after Jasper on the roof, Reika Kitami had finally made her way towards the street where the apartment complex Raizo and Jasper were located. "Damn it, come on!" Reika said to herself out loud. Back with Raizo and Jasper, Jasper attempted to escape by climbing down a ladder. He was able to climb down halfway before Raizo jumped down and tackled him into a dumpster.

Jasper cried out in pain from Raizo's move, but Raizo wasn't having any of it and punched him before he grabbed him by the collar and threw him out of the dumpster. "GAH! Bloody hell, mate...that hurt!" Jasper cried out as he turned over on his back. "You...piece of shit! Making me run after you like that...I oughta-" Raizo began. "Ey, ease up mate! We're on the same side here, ain't we?" Jasper said as he slowly stood back up on his feet. "Who the hell are you?" Raizo demanded angrily after he caught his breath. "What?" Jasper asked. "Who are you?! What the fuck were you doing back there?!" Raizo shouted. "Listen, mate...I'm a private investigator." Jasper began. "Is that so? Well, guess what detective? A man's dead!" Raizo seethed. "Oi! I know how bad it looks, but I had nothin' to do with that, I swear!" Jasper objected. "Bullshit! You're covered in blood!" Raizo growled. "All I did was ask him about the girl; I didn't realize that was his sister!" Jasper exclaimed.

Raizo was caught off guard as he said that. "What do you mean?" Raizo demanded. "Look. I asked him about the girl, and then he started to freak out. I figured that somebody must have told him already, or at the very least he might have heard about it on the news. So how the hell was I supposed to know? How was I supposed to react the way he did?!" Jasper explained. Raizo suddenly knew what this meant. "Fuck!" Raizo cursed. "The crazy bastard looked like he was about to attack me, so I drew me gun out in self defense. But I didn't think he'd be crazy enough to take it from me! I tried to stop him, mate! Really, I did...but it all happened so fast! Fucker shot himself right before me very eyes! I still can't believe it!" Jasper continued.

After a moment of silence, Jasper spoke up again. "I know who you're looking for, mate." Jasper said. "Do you?" Raizo demanded. "Yeah...you're after that fat lard cake, Pete! Me guy says he's holed up in the _Rotten Clam_. What do you say you and I take him in together? Me employer is looking to ask a few questions too!" Jasper said with a slight sneer. Raizo could already tell that this guy was suspicious enough, so he knew better than to trust him. "Who do you work for?" Raizo asked. "Oh, I'm sorry mate. You know I can't answer that; privacy policy and all that! I'm sure you understand!" Jasper replied.

Raizo suddenly punched him in the face, making him cry out in pain. "OW! What the fuck was that for?!" Jasper exclaimed in pain. "I wasn't asking, asshole! Who do you work for?!" Raizo growled as he grabbed him by the collar. "You know, this could've been easy!" Jasper snapped. "Then I'll make it easy; tell me who you work for right now!" Raizo demanded. "Horace!" Jasper said. "What? Yeah, I will beat your ass like a horse if you don't tell me right fucking now-" Raizo began. "No, you dumb bastard! I'm Jasper...that's Horace!" Jasper sneered. Suddenly, a short and fat man appeared and knocked Raizo out cold by punching him in the back of the head.

Raizo later woke up to the sight of Reika Kitami kneeling over him with a sneaky grin on her face. "You know something, studboy? You actually looked pretty peaceful for a minute there." Reika said with a sarcastic tone. "Grr!" Raizo growled in irritation. "Except that you're lying in a dirty alley with an open wound in the back of your head!" Reika teased. "Ugh...what the fuck happened?" Raizo growled. "Well, after one of them hit you in the back of the head and the other kicked you-" Reika began. "Oh! That explains the ribs!" Raizo groaned as he held his side. "They took off in a rickety old truck and drove away. And now we're here, talking about it!" Reika finished with a smirk. "Ugh...just do me a favor and leave me here, ok?" Raizo grouched.

Reika giggled at him. "Come on, studboy. Get up!" Reika jokingly encouraged. When Raizo refused, Reika rolled her eyes and helped him up. "Oh! Uh, thanks...don't tell anyone about this, ok?" Raizo groaned. "Don't worry...I will!" Reika replied with a smirk and a wink. "Hmph! They won't feel so tough the next time I see them, I can tell you that right now!" Raizo grumbled as he and Reika walked out of the alley. "I guess we're out of options now, huh?" Reika said in a more serious tone. "Not quite. Jasper mentioned Pete being at the _Rotten Clam_." Raizo replied. "Oh! Then I guess that's where we'll go. I'll call a cab!" Reika said.

 ***Kavinsky: Nightcall plays!***

As Raizo and Reika rode through town, they discussed their case, among other things. "So...that was quite a day, huh Raizo?" Reika began. "Pfft! If you count running around in circles and getting jumped in an alley a good day, then yeah. I suppose it was!" Raizo grumbled. "Well, it could be worse. You could be sitting at the office bored out of your mind!" Reika joked. "At this point, that actually doesn't sound too bad!" Raizo snapped back. "So...recap: We talk to Pete at the _Rotten Clam_ , and then what?" Reika asked.

Raizo took a deep breath before he spoke up again. "Reika, right now Pete is our best lead. He was the last one to be seen with that woman, and I have fairly good feeling that Tiana might have known this woman as well." Raizo said. "So you think there's a connection between the two?" Reika asked. "You sound like you've got doubts, Reika. Is there something you want to say?" Raizo replied as he lit up a cigarette.

Reika looked at him as he said that, but sighed in defeat. "Well, if you have to know...it seems kind of fishy that everything backtracks to Pete. I mean, be honest with me...do you really think that he did it? I mean, really think about it...I know it's early, but I still have my own doubts. Who do you think really did all of this?" Reika asked seriously.

Raizo took a long minute to think about it before he gave his final answer. "It was Pete; no doubt about it. He had the motive and he had the means!" Raizo answered. "Are you sure? How can you be so certain it was him?" Reika asked. "You know what, Kitami? As far as I'm concerned, I'm smashing glass in that fat lard's face and then dragging his ass to prison dead or alive! I'll figure out the rest later!" Raizo snapped as he lost his patience.

Reika grew upset as he said that. "Jesus...I'm sorry for asking. You know, this side of you kind of scares me." Reika began. "Well get used to it, because this is the way I am! Now do me a favor and just be quiet for a few minutes, all right?" Raizo growled as he held his forehead. Reika sighed as she finally gave up; she could tell when she was beaten. "Fine!" Reika grumbled.

A few minutes of silence passed before the both of them decided to speak again. "Reika-" Raizo began. "Raizo-" Reika began at the same time. Both of them grew silent again as they had interrupted each other. "Sorry!" Reika said as she blushed. "What? No, its fine. I didn't mean to cut you off. What is it?" Raizo began nervously. "No, it's fine! Really...it's nothing to worry about." Reika said. "Well, I uh...I just wanted to, uh..." Raizo stuttered trying to get the words out.

As he looked at Reika, Raizo wanted to say he was sorry for being so harsh on her. He even wanted to compliment her on doing good at her job for her first day. But as he stared at her, he couldn't help but realize how beautiful she looked, especially her eyes. Those beautiful, luscious eyes. "Ah, you know what? Never mind! It wasn't important anyway!" Raizo said as he gave up. "Oh, um...ok! Fine." Reika said as she looked away.

As Reika looked outside the window, she sighed sadly. "Raizo...I have a confession to make." Reika began. "What is it?" Raizo asked. "I wasn't exaggerating when I said that I'm not as clean cut as you think. The truth of the matter is...I've done some pretty awful things. Things that I will regret for the rest of my life." Reika began. "Like what? What did you do?" Raizo asked. Reika turned to face him with the saddest look in her eyes. "If I told you, you'd never look at me the same way again. But let's just say that somebody betrayed me and I took matters into my own hands. So let's leave it at that, ok?" Reika explained with deep emotion in her voice.

Raizo nodded his head. "I understand, Reika. Believe me; I understand exactly what you mean. I was betrayed by someone I trusted too. There's nothing more painful than having someone you entrusted your life with only to turn around and stab you in the back...especially the way he did it!" Raizo said bitterly half-way to himself. Reika looked at him as he said that. "What I was getting at was...there's a reason why I joined this TTP force. I joined because I felt like it was a way to redeem myself for the bad things I've done in the past. But after all that I've seen today...to see innocent people being terrorized for just being themselves...to see young girls have to turn to prostitution! It makes me realize more and more just how good I have it, and how much I don't deserve it." Reika explained sadly.

Reika sighed as she went on. "I thought that doing this would have been simple; I'd get to help people out. But instead, we end up not getting to them in time or we otherwise turn them away." Reika continued. "What do you mean by that?" Raizo questioned. "I know about all the toons and how they're treated back at the office; I've heard them complain about it. For toons like those creeps Hades or Gaston, you have all the time in the world for them. But for others like the Mousekewitz family...they just get shooed off for, as Frollo puts it, wasting valuable time." Reika said bitterly. "Hey! That's not on you, all right? Frollo is to blame for that; he runs things his own way and everything turns to shit as a result! I bet if you and Roland were in charge, things would be better!" Raizo said gravely.

Reika smiled warmly as he said that. "Thank you, I appreciate that." she said. "Things are just bad, Kitami. They've been bad before, but now with this...things are much worse than ever before!" Raizo grumbled. "That's not true, honey." Reika said as she touched his shoulder. "Well, yeah I guess you're right. We've had things much worse before...but not by much. All in all, though...I trust that you'll do the right thing. I certainly think you and Roland would be better at this political crap than I ever would be." Raizo said a bit more cheerfully. Reika smiled again as he said that. "I hope you're right!" Reika finally said. " _Maybe he's not as bad as I thought, after all. Maybe...just maybe, there might be a chance between us!_ " Reika thought to herself happily. " _Hmm...this woman isn't as bad as I thought after all. Maybe Roland was right to put her with me. Maybe-_ " Raizo thought to himself.

 ***Song ends!***

Finally, Raizo and Reika arrived at the _Rotten Clam_. "Well, here we are. How do you want to handle this?" Reika announced. "I'll handle Pete. If things go sour, you watch yourself." Raizo answered. "Are you sure?" Reika wondered. "I can handle myself just fine. But if you can't handle this-" Raizo teased. "I'll be fine, studboy! I'm no damsel in distress!" Reika snapped. "We'll see. Come on, let's go!" Raizo began before his cellphone rang. "Huh? Oh, shit...it's Roland. Hold on a second, will you?" Raizo said as he answered the phone. "Hello? What's up Roland?" Raizo asked. " _Raizo! Thank God I've finally reached you! You'll never believe what I've just discovered; it's about Tiana!_ " Roland cried. "Yeah, we're coming up to the _Rotten Clam_ to question Pete about her right now." Raizo said. " _That's just it, Raizo. The girl we found dead at our doorstep **is** Tiana! I just got the tests back from Professor Oak!_" Roland exclaimed.

Raizo nearly dropped the phone as he said that. "No...that's impossible! The woman we found was an anime toon; Tiana's a Disney toon!" Raizo cried. " _I was just as shocked to hear this just as you are, Raizo. But you can't argue with these results. As soon as you're done interrogating Pete, you need to come back to HQ and see these results for yourself!_ " Roland said. "All right, I will! Thanks for the heads up, Roland." Raizo said. " _Raizo? Be careful out there; there's some foul play involved in all of this, but I can't seem to tell exactly who or what is involved in all this!_ " Roland warned. "All right, thanks. I'll see you soon, old friend." Raizo said before he hung up.

As he hung up, Reika approached him. "Everything ok?" she asked as she saw how upset he looked. "Let's go, Kitami. We're wasting time!" Raizo replied simply. "You lead the way, studboy!" Reika replied back with a giggle.


	6. More Questions and a Bar Fight!

***So sorry for keeping you all waiting! Red Dead Redemption 2 is addicting as hell! That and work has been draining me, along with this new keto diet I'm on! But enough excuses; I'll try to keep uploading as often as I can. Until then, enjoy this next chapter! Thanks!* ;)**

 **Chapter 6: More Questions and a Bar Fight!**

* * *

 ***Lil' Ed and the Blues Imperials: You Burnt Me plays!***

As Reika and Raizo stepped into the _Rotten Clam_ , they were immediately greeted with the smell of cigarette smoke and booze. Ratigan from the Great Mouse Detective was playing pool with Don Karnage the Air Pirate leader from Tailspin. At the bar there stood Ursula the Sea Witch from the Little Mermaid tending to her customers; Amos Slade from the Fox and the Hound, Captain Hook from Peter Pan, and Shan Yu from Mulan. Raizo looked at Reika, who in turn nodded before they both approached the bar. Ursula stopped what she was doing when she caught sight of the two, obviously not happy to see them. "What the hell do you want now, boy?" Ursula snapped.

Raizo took a deep breath before he spoke. "I'm looking for Pete!" he replied simply. "Pete? Never heard of him." the Sea Witch replied quickly. "Look...I don't want to know where he is, I just want to know when the last time it was when you saw him." Raizo said trying his best not to lose his temper. "Who are we talking about exactly?" Ursula replied as she crossed her arms. "I'm being nice, so you better try again!" Raizo said firmly as he placed his hands on the bar. Ursula quickly glanced at the other Disney Villains, who shook their heads. "He hasn't been here in a few days. Or, was it weeks? Months, maybe? I don't know!" Ursula lied.

Raizo looked at the other villains before he smirked and chuckled. "Let me guess; they tell you when to close too?" he said with sarcasm dripping in his voice. "No, and they don't need me to tell you to fuck off!" Ursula sneered back. "Fine; I guess you won't mind if I have a look around with my partner here. I just might even ask your friends a couple of questions too!" Raizo said as he lit up a cigarette. "You're wasting time, boy! He ain't here, plain and simple." Amos said quickly as he gulped down some whiskey.

Raizo gave him a grim look before he began to scan the place out for signs of Pete. As he did so, Reika took the chance to try and make her own impression. "So this is a busy night for you guys, huh? You're living the dream, aren't you?" Reika sarcastically stated. "Is it that obvious to you, dear?" Ursula retorted. "Oh, I'm sorry...am I bothering you?" Reika challenged. Ursula glared at her, causing Reika to glare back.

Finally, Raizo broke the silence as he caught a clue. "Hey, Ursula? Who's that guy in the picture with you guys?" Raizo pointed out. Ursula looked up at the photo of what looked like Pete and Ursula smiling as they both held a mug of beer in their hands. "I don't recognize him." Ursula lied. "Really? Because you two look awfully close in that photo." Raizo stated. "I never met him!" Ursula insisted.

Raizo shook his head before he caught sight of a half empty beer mug. "Whose is that?" Raizo asked. "A customer's, what do you think?" Ursula snapped. "Must've left in a hurry. How come you didn't dump it?" Raizo asked. "And waste the beer? Please!" Don Karnage sneered before a glare from Ursula silenced him. "Ha! He ask for a refund?" Raizo smirked. "Fuck you!" Ursula growled.

Raizo decided to take it to the next level by sitting between Shan Yu and Amos, visibly angering them. "There's a lot of empty stools in this place, boy!" Amos growled. "Mmm-hmm! Why don't you sit someplace else?" Shan Yu agreed as he gulped down some sake. Raizo put out his cigarette on an ash tray, not taking his eyes off them. "You got a problem with me, friends?" Raizo asked sternly. "Yeah...we don't like you, and you're sitting with us!" Shan Yu growled. Raizo smirked as he shrugged his shoulders. "You could be polite and ask me to move." Raizo stated.

Don Karnage gulped nervously as he said that, but Ratigan gave Ursula a look, prompting her next move. "You two gonna order or are you going to continue to harass my customers?" Ursula asked with anger in her voice. "What customers are we talking about exactly?" Raizo joked. "Yeah, because you are just booming with business right now!" Reika added with a wicked grin.

Ursula looked like she wanted to strangle Reika for that comment. "You know what I mean!" she snarled. Raizo and Reika exchanged looks before they made their next move. "Give me and my partner here a Rattlehead Whiskey!" Raizo said with a wry grin. "You want limes?" Ursula grumbled. "Yeah, and a bowl of pretzels and a foot massage while you're at it!" Reika joked. It was Ursula's turn to smile. "You know something? I hear that they sell those kinds of things at the bar just across the street!" she sneered. "How's the service?" Reika jabbed. "If you ain't assholes, then they won't charge you extra! Might be impossible for the likes of you, though!" Ursula shot back.

This caused Shan Yu and Amos to laugh, irritating Raizo. "You think that's funny?" Raizo asked with a frown. "Yup! I think it's hilarious!" Shan Yu sneered as he gulped down another shot of sake. "It's called having a sense of humor; you should try it sometime!" Amos added. Raizo's frown slowly turned to a grin as he said that. "Eh, it was all right!" Raizo said at last.

Raizo turned to Ursula, who kept smirking at him. "You know something, honey? This is so much fun; doing this back and forth bantering bullshit. We really ought to do it more often, but unfortunately...I'm running out of time and patience. So skip to the part where you help me before I lose my cool!" Raizo said as he practically snarled the last sentence.

 ***Song ends!***

Suddenly, the sound of a toilet flushing caught everyone's attention. Ursula grew nervous as the sound of a sink running and whistling filled the air. She turned to the other Disney Villains, who shook their heads. Finally, the culprit Raizo was waiting for stepped out of the bathroom. It was Pete. "Oh, Ursula? You ran out of paper towels in the...oh, shit!" Pete announced before he caught sight of Raizo. Raizo grinned wickedly as Pete hung his head low and sat back down on his stool at the bar, gulping down the rest of his beer. "I certainly hope so for your sake, Pete! Otherwise, you got some explaining to do about the shit stain on your pants." Raizo sneered.

Pete took a deep breath before he spoke up. "Boy...you and me have been going at it for years; I'm done fighting with you!" he said seriously. Raizo wasn't buying it. "I don't think I believe you, fat boy!" Raizo growled. Raizo exchanged a look at Kitami, who nodded as she took a step back towards the door. "You all are in luck; I've decided to switch seats." Raizo said as he stood up from his seat.

But before he could take another step, Shan Yu firmly grabbed his arm. This caused a few others to gasp or widen their eyes, but Raizo tensed up and glared at the Hun. "You really don't want to piss me off, do you? Because the last time somebody pissed me off by laying their hands on me...he ended up with an axe in his head!" Raizo snarled as he glared at Pete. "The last time I laid my hands on somebody, they ended up in the ground...in pieces!" Shan Yu snarled back. Raizo and Shan Yu glared at each other fiercely, but thankfully Pete was able to prevent tempers flaring as he spoke up. "It's ok, boys...you can let them go. I knew that this day would come. Besides; I want to talk to them!" Pete said in a surprisingly calm manner.

Shan Yu gave Raizo another glare before he let go of his arm, finally allowing him to take a seat next to Pete. "You know something? It's funny; just a few minutes ago, everyone here didn't seem to know who you were!" Raizo began with a laugh. Pete took a turn to laugh before he spoke up again. "Yeah, well...it is a funny world we live in, boy. I mean...everyone seems to know who you are; the war hero who saved Toon Town! A fat lot of good that did for me, didn't it?" Pete said pitifully.

Raizo sighed heavily as he began to lose his patience. "Come on, Pete. Cut the bullshit! You know why I'm here...tell me why you did it!" Raizo said firmly. "You wanna know about the girl, I get it! Look, the reason I did it was simple; for money!" Pete replied. This surprised Raizo as he said that. "This was about money? Really?!" Raizo exclaimed. "Yeah...I've been strolling by her place for weeks. She didn't look like it, but she had money. And lots of it, too! She could fool everyone else with that cutesy innocent babe in the woods act, but not me! I knew where she was hiding all that gold." Pete rambled.

Pete then chuckled before he spoke again. "Heh-heh-heh! I was gonna rob her. I had it all planned out, boy. I had crew, I had the supplies, and even had an escape route planned out. Everything was going perfectly, but the night I finally have the nerve to go do it...there you are! Fucking things up for me, you and that pesky mouse!" Pete continued. "What the hell are you talking about?" Raizo demanded in confusion. "You don't remember, boy? I'm talking about Snow White; turns out that bitch hid thousands of dollars worth of gold stashed someplace in that little wooden cottage of hers. And me my crew were gonna rob the place, but then Mickey and his swanky pals from TPP showed up and ruined everything! And then, of course...there was that monster who showed up!" Pete explained.

Raizo closed his eyes and sighed heavily in anger; that was one memory he did not want to be reminded of right now. "I'm not talking about that, Pete! Besides; I already know this story!" Raizo said angrily. "Well of course you know it; you were there, weren't you?" Pete chuckled. "No...I'm talking about Tiana!" Raizo growled now losing patience. "Tiana? Who the hell is that?" Pete demanded. "The toon woman you were beating up the other night...she's dead!" Raizo seethed as the last word spat out of his mouth.

Pete's eyes grew wide as he said that. "What? No, no, no! I was here the whole time; I swear it!" Pete began. "Pete?! It doesn't look so great when the woman you were assaulting a few hours earlier ends up dead!" Raizo said as he rose his voice. This comment caught everyone's attention, especially Ursula's. But out of all the people who were most upset about this was Pete. "What? She's...dead?! Oh my God! Listen to me boy; I'm a piece of shit! Everyone knows that! And I've got a temper for sure...but I ain't no killer! I get real squeamish whenever I see blood; ask anyone here, they'll vouch for me!" Pete said in a panicked tone. "Yes, it is true! When Don Karnage here ordered a rare steak, I had to help revive his fat ass after he passed out!" Ratigan said as he hopped up on the bar and pointed his cane at Pete.

Amos took another shot of whiskey before he spoke up, angrily of course. "He was here! The whole damn night; that's the truth, boy! And you know it!" Amos snapped. "You see? Look...I get it if you don't like me. That's fine; nobody really likes me. I can take that...but this? This is just bad; really, really bad! They'll throw me in the Dip Chamber for sure...please! You've gotta believe me; I ain't no killer! Sure I talk tough, but that's it...I ain't got it in me to kill somebody! Please, believe me. Please!" Pete begged as he got on his knees and cried.

Shan Yu had enough; he finished the last of his sake before he jumped out of his stool in an aggressive manner, as did Captain Hook and Amos. "Wait! Stop it; this isn't what I want, ok boys?" Pete cried as he stood back up. "Oh would you just shut up already, you worthless lard ass?! It's not always about what you want!" Captain Hook shouted angrily. "Yeah; it's about this goddamn government lapdog and his hussy of a partner, charging on in here to harass us without any good reason!" Amos added with shaking fury. "And don't forget the fact that their softhearted and weak-minded fool of a boss is always forcing us away every chance they get! If someone like Ursula, who has a real problem, comes to you fools for help you push us away! You only show up whenever the rich, pompous imperialist dogs like Hades, Gaston, or those damn Princesses need a shakedown! Isn't that right, boy?!" Shan Yu snarled.

Suddenly, Raizo began to laugh in a deeply sinister tone. "Oh, you guys are really asking for it, you know that? You really want to go there with me?!" Raizo growled as he clenched his fists. "Raizo?" Reika asked in deep worry. "What, you don't believe us? It's true; Ursula's sister has been missing for weeks and this little lapdog doesn't give a damn! All he cares about is getting that nice fat paycheck from Frollo to keep his mouth shut and do as he's told. Right? As long as that check is waving in front of your face, you don't give a damn about us doodles! Tell me I'm wrong!" Captain Hook shouted. "Hook...you better watch your mouth; anyone here might think you're blaming me for your problems!" Raizo snarled as he turned to face him. "That's it; I've had it with you! It's time I teach you some manners!" Amos shouted as his face turned red.

But just as Amos rushed to attack, Raizo grabbed him by the arm and flipped him over onto his back, smashing a table to pieces in the process. Hook then tried to swipe a punch at Raizo, but he found himself smashed into the jukebox, destroying it in the process. Shan Yu attempted to attack as well, but Raizo kicked his shin and smashed his face into the bar, forcing the Hun to the ground. "STAY DOWN!" Raizo shouted as his eyes briefly glowed green. "Raizo? Stop it; you're going too far!" Reika scolded as she grabbed him. "I haven't gone far enough! So if I were you, I'd get out of the way!" Shan Yu sneered as he slowly got back up and drew out a dagger from his coat pocket.

Raizo growled menacingly as his fists clenched and teeth gritted. "You really want to piss me off, don't you?" Raizo growled. "I've beaten warriors tougher than you! What makes you think you stand a chance against me?" Shan Yu taunted. "You've messed with the wrong toons for the last time, boy!" Captain Hook added as he drew out his pirate sword. "I might have missed last time, but this time...I won't!" Amos threatened as he grabbed a sawn off shotgun he hid underneath the bar. "Are you gonna do something about this? Stop them!" Reika cried out to Ursula. "Why?" she sneered as she folded her arms across her chest.

As the three Disney villains surrounded Raizo, Raizo's inner rage began to boil up inside. But as Shan Yu came rushing towards him with his dagger, Raizo let out a feral scream as he grappled the hun and smashed him into the wall. Raizo then butted his head into Shan Yu's face multiple times before Amos grabbed him from behind, choking him with his gun. As Amos held him, Shan Yu and Hook attempted to stab him with their weapons. But Raizo broke free and forced Amos onto both assailants before he unleashed a flurry of brutal attacks on Amos.

Raizo kicked Amos in the face, forcing him to drop his gun. Not even finished, Raizo grabbed Amos and slammed him onto the pool table before he mercilessly beat his fists into his face. "Raizo! Knock it off!" Reika shouted as she tried to stop him. But Ursula reached out with a tentacle and stopped her before she pinned the witch to the wall. "Not so fast, sweetheart! The boys ain't done playing yet!" Ursula taunted. "Let me go, you fat tentacled bitch!" Reika screamed.

After slamming Amos against the wall, Raizo turned towards Hook. Raizo tried to smash wooden furniture against Hook, but the clever pirate just parried his attacks and reduced his wooden weapons to kindling. Finally, Raizo lost his patience and just kicked Hook down under before he roundhouse kicked him into the bar, crashing into Ursula and inadvertently causing Reika to fall flat on her face.

Only Shan Yu remained, and he wasn't shy about fighting dirty. He smashed a glass bottle into Raizo's face, making him cry out before the Hun tackled him to the ground and savagely beat him into submission with his fists. Finally, Shan Yu grabbed his dagger and smiled evilly as he rose the dagger up for the kill. "Looks like you're all out of ideas!" Shan Yu sneered before he let out fierce battle cry and plunged the blade into Raizo's chest. Raizo cried out in agony as he was stabbed and appeared to pass out from a loss of blood.

Reika saw this and screamed in horror. "NO! What have you done, you bastards?! You killed him!" Reika shrieked. "He got what he deserved; don't make me do the same to you!" Shan Yu snapped. "I should kill you for what you did, you son of a-" Reika began before a loud growling noise filled the air. "AIIEE! What is that thing?!" Don Karnage cried as he hid behind the bar counter.

Raizo suddenly stood up on his feet, his eyes glowing bright green and his face looking more demonic. The demon inside of him had awakened from the violent conflict that ensued, and now he'd be damned if he'd let Shan Yu get away with what he did. Raizo tore out the dagger before he crushed it with his bare hand, like a piece of paper. " ** _That's all you've got, fool?!_** " Raizo snarled in a deep, demonic tone. Reika and the others looked horrified by what they saw, but Shan Yu surprisingly showed no fear at all. "It seemed to be enough!" he sneered. " ** _Last and final mistake on your part!_** " Raizo growled. Shan Yu charged forward to attack, but didn't get the chance to see his error when Raizo grabbed him by the throat and began choking him with a steel grip.

Raizo then let out a horrible roar as his inner Hellspawn took control, giving him the strength to smash Shan Yu around like a rag doll. As this happened, Reika watched with horror and awe. " _My God! Is this really the same young man I've been working with?! What sort of monster has possessed him to make him like this?!_ " Reika thought with horror written on her face.

Eventually, Raizo slammed Shan Yu to the floor and growled menacingly as he pinned his foot to his chest. As he raised his fist up for the final kill, Reika finally spoke up. "Raizo, stop it! You've beaten him, now back off!" Reika shouted. "He's had enough!" Pete added. Raizo lowered his fists and turned to face the others, as if contemplating whether to listen to him or not. However, as Raizo caught sight of Amos' shotgun, he grinned wickedly as he grabbed it. Reika gasped in horror as Raizo held the gun in his hand. "PUT THAT DOWN!" Reika shrieked. "Don't do it!" Don Karnage whimpered.

Suddenly, a deafeningly loud noise filled the air before a deathly silence followed...and then came the screams of anguish from Shan Yu. Raizo had shot off his right arm completely off his shoulder! But Raizo wasn't finished just yet; he tossed the empty gun aside and grabbed Shan Yu's severed arm before he tossed at Amos. " _ **I'm the lapdog, eh? Well here...fetch this, bitch!**_ " Raizo snarled. Amos screamed in horror as the arm laid before him. "YOU FUCKING MONSTER!" Pete screamed.

As Raizo finally stepped off of Shan Yu, he stared at everyone else as if to study their reactions. Everyone, including Kitami, looked absolutely horrified by what they had just witnessed. Raizo then approached the bar, making Ursula quite nervous. " _ **Whiskey...now!**_ " Raizo growled. Ursula nodded nervously as she grabbed a shot glass, but Raizo smacked it out of her hands. " _ **Double!**_ " Raizo snapped. Ursula frowned, but she grabbed a larger glass before she poured Raizo some Rattlehead Whiskey.

As Raizo gulped down the bitter drink, he slowly transformed back into his normal self. After taking a deep breath, he spoke up again. "All of this never happened! You got it? You didn't see any of this!" Raizo said. Ursula sadly frowned as she nodded her head, understanding her situation. As Raizo backed off from the bar, an angry Reika approached him. "You son of a bitch! What have you done?!" she seethed. "Shut up, woman! I don't want to hear it. And you...don't even think about it!" Raizo snarled as he caught sight of Pete trying to sneak away.

Pete huffed angrily as he stopped and glared at him. "Is this what I can expect if I turn myself in, boy?" Pete questioned. "You run from me, and I guarantee you that whatever happened here will be pleasant compared to what I'm truly capable of. So don't you fucking push me!" Raizo threatened. But just as he said that, the front door opened and someone stepped in. "All right, ya duckies! I've gotta $100 for the first one to tell me where you can find-" announced a British man in a brown trench coat before he grew silent. Raizo turned to face the man and glared intensely; it was Jasper and he was covered in blood! "You!" he snarled. "Oh, bugger!" Jasper grumbled.

But just as Raizo took a step, Pete bolted before he tripped. Time seemed to slow down for Raizo as he saw both Pete and Jasper trying to make a run for it. But after what seemed like an eternity of choosing who to go after...Raizo charged towards Pete and pinned him to the wall in the bathroom. "OUCH! What are you doing?! You said you wouldn't hurt me!" Pete cried as Raizo slapped some handcuffs on him. "I didn't say anything of the sort! You, on the other-hand said you wouldn't run!" Raizo snapped.

Raizo quickly glanced over to see Jasper make his escape through the front door. "Fucking hell!" Raizo cursed. "That guy is covered in blood and you let him go?!" Pete snapped. "Shut the fuck up! Nobody asked for your opinion! Now let's go; you're under arrest!" Raizo snarled. "But I didn't do anything!" Pete complained. "You understand the concept of remaining silent, don't you? So you better be quiet or I'll shut you up myself!" Raizo growled as he marched Pete out of the bar.

But before Reika went after her partner, she turned around and faced the frightened toons. "I'm so sorry about all of this. I didn't think it would get this bad, honestly!" Reika said mournfully. "Just get out of here and don't come back, all right?!" Ursula snapped. Reika bowed her head sadly before she went off after Raizo.

About 20 minutes later; Raizo, Reika, and Pete arrived at the TPP HQ Building...only to find it surrounded by the FBI and the Empire Plaza Police Department. "What the hell?" Raizo muttered. "What's going on?!" Reika exclaimed. "I'm sure you had something to do with it!" Pete snorted. Raizo glared at him before he took Pete and cuffed him to a lamp post. "Ouch! What are you doing?!" Pete cried out. "Pete, it's in your best interest to shut up right now. You stay here until we come back, all right? If you do anything stupid, then I'll gladly chuck your fat ass down into the Dip Chamber myself! Got it?!" Raizo instructed angrily. Pete sighed as he shook his head; he knew when he was beaten. "Fine! Just hurry up, all right? My back is killing me!" Pete complained.

Raizo and Reika slowly approached the chaotic scene. As they got closer, they noticed that several toons were being held back by police officers. The toons looked really anxious and worried, which only fed Raizo and Reika's curiosity. But as they got closer, they noticed the grim expressions of some of the FBI agents guarding the place...and then they caught sight of the body bags and blood. "Oh my God!" Raizo muttered before he started running. "Raizo, wait a second! Maybe we should-" Reika began.

As Raizo raced towards the entrance, he was stopped by several FBI agents. "Excuse me, sir! This area is off limits; please step back!" one of them said. "Get out of the way; my friend is in there!" Raizo shouted as he pushed past him. "Hey! Get back here! HEY!" another FBI agent shouted. Time slowed down for Raizo as he finally saw what was going on; there was another murder. But what shocked Raizo into awed silence was who the next victim was...it was his partner, Ken Roland! As Raizo stared in horror and disbelief, he was unaware that he was being surrounded by FBI agents. Everything else went black after that point.

It seemed things were about to take a turn for the worse!


	7. A Violent Interrogation!

**Chapter 7: A Violent Interrogation!**

* * *

Somewhere in the corner of his mind, all Raizo could see was that face. That horrific face, from that horrific scene, and that horrific time. How he could not foresee this was beyond him. His own best friend, Ken Roland, was the next victim to this psychopathic murderer. Sure, there were other bodies at the scene of the crime, but that wasn't important to him. Not right now at least. Raizo's shock had frozen him solid in his tracks, like ice. So much so that he wasn't even aware that someone was speaking to him. "Raizo!" a stern feminine voice cried.

Raizo finally snapped out of his trance and realized where he was; he was in the Empire Plaza Police Headquarters, being interrogated by the police. Raizo looked down at a photograph laid out on the table before him; it was Roland's decapitated head from the crime scene. Raizo sighed heavily as he pushed it aside and then looked at the woman in front of him.

As Raizo stared at the female detective sitting across from him, his face drained of all emotion. As he stared blankly at the detective. She looked like she was in her early 30s, had brown hair in a ponytail, and white skin with green eyes. Raizo could tell that she was frustrated. "Look, I can already tell that you and I aren't going to end up being the best of friends. I'll put it to you simply: You answer my questions and you get to go home. Maybe get some sleep. Tell me, how do you feel?" the detective stated as professionally as she could.

Raizo lit up a cigarette and took a deep puff of it before he spoke. "I'm feeling really fucking pissed off right now, if I'm honest. I'd like to smash everything in this fucking room. I'd like to reach across this table and rip your fucking throat out; that's how I'm feeling!" Raizo snarled as he crushed out his cigarette. "Is that a threat?" the detective demanded.

Raizo scoffed as he shook his head. "No. I was just answering your question. You asked me how I'm feeling and I gave you my answer; isn't that what you wanted?" Raizo snapped. "Look, I get it. You're tired, and you don't want to be here. I get that. But I need you to cooperate with me and answer my questions like an adult." the detective said sternly. "Well I'd appreciate it if you would fuck off and die!" Raizo snarled.

The detective was starting to lose her patience with Raizo. "Raizo...I've been interviewing people all night." she began. "I don't give a fuck what you've been doing all night, ok? In fact; I don't give a fuck about you, your politics, or any other bullshit you and your friends the liberal media have to say or think about me! Maybe you ought to take a hint from this, huh? You seem to be a smart, strong, and independent young woman...unless you choose to say so otherwise?" Raizo mocked.

The detective had enough of Raizo's attitude; here she was, trying to have an adult conversation with him and he dared to speak to her that way. "Well you're little temper tantrum back at that crime scene left several of my team mates bruised and battered when they tried to escort you away. So why don't you cut this juvenile bullshit out and cooperate with me before I have you put away in a mental institution!" the detective shouted as she slammed her fist on the table. However, from he other side of the glass, her superior officer knocked on the glass and motioned for her to settle down.

The detective took a minute to catch herself before she calmed down and sat back down on her seat. "God damn it, I'm trying to help you Raizo!" the detective snapped before she began scribbling notes on her notebook. As she did that, Raizo took a moment to examine the photograph that laid before him; seeing Roland's face only made him angrier. Not just for Roland, but due to the fact that this woman obviously didn't care about what had happened. He already knew her type; the cold, heartless puppets used by the government that cared for only facts and not people or their well being.

Raizo took a deep breath before he spoke up again. "What is it with you soulless ghouls and your lack of true empathy for other people? You dare ask how someone else feels and then have the nerve to say you know how it feels?! BULLSHIT! You know nothing of what I feel, woman! Have you ever lost your best friend in a way as brutal and cruel as this? You ever seen someone you know and love have their decapitated head left at your fucking doorstep?!" Raizo shouted furiously.

The woman stopped and looked at Raizo as he said that. For once, he seemed to know what he was talking about. She never lost anyone she knew, so she couldn't say she understood that kind of loss. But in her mind, she was just doing her job. Raizo smirked as he shook his head again. "Yeah, that's what I thought. It's just a job to you; I get it! You need that paycheck to pay off your bills or whatever. Me, on the other hand? I do this because it's all I fucking know! This is my life, you understand? And for me to see someone I've known for years to die like that is obviously going to make me upset! You understand what I'm saying to you?" Raizo explained with bitter emotion.

At first, the detective didn't respond to him. "Hey! I'm talking to you, woman! Answer me!" Raizo shouted. But as he stared at her, he noticed that her nose started to bleed. "Uh...you all right there? Your nose is bleeding." Raizo said with a raised eyebrow. The detective didn't even respond, but she did a double-take as she wiped the blood from her nose. "You look nuts right now, you know that? It's pretty hard to take all of this seriously with your face all messy like that; it's really weird." Raizo said.

Still no response from the detective, as she just sat there with a glazed look in her eyes. Raizo looked at her name tag, which read Janet. "Um, Detective Janet? Are you all right?" Raizo asked now with more concern as he realized something was wrong. "Huh? Um, yes...I'm Detective Janet." the woman replied in a monotone voice. "What's going on?" Raizo wondered now getting worried. "Wait...do you hear that? It's closer! It's...it's...AAAAAHHHHHH! MAKE IT STOP, PLEASE!" Detective Janet screamed as she bolted from her seat and held her hands against her ears. "What the hell?! What's wrong with you?!" Raizo exclaimed.

Suddenly, there were screams heard from all around the entire Police Headquarters. It seemed that everyone was suffering from the same strange thing that Detective Janet was enduring. "Make it stop, please! I'm sorry...just make it stop...please!" Detective Janet wailed before she fell to the floor and passed out. As soon as Janet ended up on the floor, everyone else inside of the Police Headquarters passed out in the same manner. This of course, freaked Raizo the hell out. "What the hell?" Raizo wondered in shock.

Suddenly, the door to the interrogation room opened. Raizo was shocked to see Frollo step inside with a concerned look on his face. "We have to leave at once!" he said with an alert tone. Raizo stared at him in disbelief; did he do all of this, he wondered? "Frollo...what the fuck is going on here?!" Raizo demanded. "You should be thanking me, boy! It's just a mind erasing spell I used from Yen Sid's spellbook. It's slow and very expensive, but it's very powerful and effective! Everyone inside of this building will wake up a few hours later and forget everything from the past 24 hours, including what happened at Toon Town. Now hurry up; my car is out in the front waiting!" Frollo explained quickly.

Rather than argue, Raizo decided to just go with it. He'd ask questions later, but right now he had a job to do!

 ***20 minutes later***

As Raizo and Frollo sat in traffic in an old black Oldsmobile, they remained silent for a while not sure of what to say to each other. It was obvious that they didn't like each other, but things have just gotten a whole lot stranger within the past several hours. Finally, Raizo spoke up. "Just so you know Frollo...this changes nothing between us!" Raizo said angrily. Frollo sighed heavily as he shook his head; he knew better than to expect any signs of appreciation from him. "Fine!" Frollo grumbled.

As they continued to slowly drive through traffic, Frollo filled Raizo in on some more details of what went on back at Toon Town. "We, uh...found Pete handcuffed to a lamp post last night. That was your doing, correct?" Frollo began after he cleared his throat. "Yeah...that was me." Raizo said with a heavy sigh. "Well, you'll be happy to know that Miss Kitami and I took Pete back to Toon Town HQ. Hades is interrogating him even as we speak and Pete is at the point of confession, so hopefully we'll finally get some good out of all of this madness. Oh, and since Master Valiant has been summoned to California by his own superiors, he's told me that you're now the Sheriff of Toon Town. Congratulations!" Frollo explained. "Great! Good to know." Raizo replied in pure sarcasm. "So what do you plan on doing when you interrogate Pete, Sheriff?" Frollo asked in a slightly joking manner.

Raizo sighed heavily as he rubbed his forehead. "Look, I'll figure it out when we get there. But for now, let's both just shut up and enjoy the peace and quiet for now, all right?" Raizo snapped. "We need to think of a plan of action, Sheriff." Frollo pointed out. "We will, all right?! Just not right now!" Raizo snapped again. For about another 10 minutes, they both rode in silence. But as traffic began to get heavier and slower, Frollo took the chance to speak of something that he felt was important.

After taking a deep breath, Frollo spoke his mind. "Oh, Sheriff. I know what you're thinking about! It's been a full evening and a slice of morning, and I already miss him too. You know, Roland would have been so proud of you. He always wanted what was best for you, and now that you're the Sheriff of Toon Town, you'll have a lot more responsibility on your part. But still...after what happened to him last night, I can only imagine what you must be feeling right now." Frollo said.

Hearing Frollo say that made Raizo very angry; he already had this conversation once with a normal human being, but to hear it from Frollo was downright infuriating. "Oh shut the hell up, Frollo!" Raizo snarled. "Excuse me?!" Frollo demanded. "You honestly think that a self righteous pile of shit like you honestly cares about anything or anyone but yourself? You expect me to believe that you actually gave a fuck about Roland?! You treated him like the goddamn whipping boy and now you expect me to be a shoulder to cry on now that he's gone?! Ha! You didn't give a fuck about him then, and you sure as hell don't give a fuck about him now!" Raizo said with anger pouring from his voice.

This outraged Frollo greatly. "That is not true, Sheriff! That is not true at all! I thought that we could discuss this matter like gentlemen, like we had common ground!" Frollo exclaimed. "WE HAVE NO COMMON GROUND!" Raizo shouted as he banged his fist on the dashboard. Frollo was shocked into silence as Raizo glared at him. "Let's make one thing crystal clear, old man. You and I have nothing in common! You hear me? Nothing! Whatever you think we have in common doesn't exist and is dead and gone!" Raizo continued with seething rage.

Frollo sighed as he shook his head. "You know something, boy? I don't even know why I bother to try with you! I understand your anger and frustration due to your loss of Roland...he was a good man. A man we should all strive to be like! I guess that I just wanted to know if he was...fine, I suppose. I mean, did he say anything to you when you last saw him?" Frollo explained. "No, because he was too busy being your fucking secretary!" Raizo snapped. "Well, did anyone say anything about him when they last spoke to him?" Frollo pressed. "Well now that you mention it, Reika did say something about him." Raizo said as he remembered something.

This caught Frollo's attention. "Really? What did she say?" he wondered. "She told me that Roland gave an indication that he was pissed at you...by saying that he was pissed at you!" Raizo spat. "At me?! But why?" Frollo demanded. "Because the whole fucking system you have working right now is broken, that's why! He got sick and damn tired of turning other toons down. He wanted to help them, but you wouldn't let him! So what is the point of having this justice system for toons if we can't give them any justice?!" Raizo angrily explained.

For once, Frollo was stumped by what Raizo said. After a long moment of silence, he gave his answer. "It's just the way things are right now, Sheriff. I can't do anything about it. I don't know what else I can say to you at this point, other than we have to put an end to our current problem right now. And that's solving this murder case!" Frollo said grimly. "Oh, don't you worry about that. I'll get the job done!" Raizo said as he folded his arms across his chest.

Finally, the car reached the Toon Town HQ and Frollo parked at the front. "Just do whatever it is you need to get the job done, Sheriff." Frollo said as he stepped out of his car. "I've got it, old man." Raizo grumbled as he stepped out. "Please, Sheriff. Do it for Roland. And for all of Toon Town." Frollo began. "I said I've got this!" Raizo snarled as he slammed the door and shattered the glass. Frollo just stared in disbelief as Raizo stomped his way into the Toon Jail. "That boy has got to work on his temper!" Frollo muttered as he shook his head.

Meanwhile; Pete was singing an old sailor's ditty while he was strapped to an interrogation chair in the basement of the Toon Town HQ. While Pete sang, Hades smirked devilishly as he leaned back against the brick walls with his arms crossed. Hades was the main villain from Disney's Hercules, and he was by far one of the most feared and despised of all the Toon Villains in Toon Town. "Aren't you going to do anything, Hades sir?" a fat pink demon named Pain wondered. "Nah, I'll just let him waste his energy now and we can revive him later. It's more fun that way!" Hades sneered. The sounds of a large steel door opening caught everyone's attention, except Pete. "Ah! Look who came to the party; just in time." Hades announced with an evil smile. "A party? I love parties! Oh, are we having cake?" a skinny blue demon named Panic cheered.

Raizo and Frollo entered the room, both of them looking pissed off but for different reasons. "Hades, why is Pete singing?" Frollo demanded as he folded his arms across his chest. "Ah, it's just some pathetic defense mechanism. He'll get over it; I've got too many methods to inspire him to talk!" Hades replied as he gave Pete a dirty look. "Hades...I thought that we agreed that you wouldn't touch him until we returned!" Frollo scolded. "Would you lighten up? Of course we agreed on that! And I haven't touched him...well, barely!" Hades shrugged. "And yet you thought it was ok for you to take those out?!" Frollo cried out as he pointed to various torture tools laying out on a wooden table.

Hades smirked as he approached Frollo. "Like I said; we've barely begun our fun." Hades sneered. "Wait a minute...where is Miss Kitami? Wasn't she supposed to be here with you?" Frollo asked. "She said she had to take a phone call. But between you and me, I didn't think she could handle this!" Hades said with an evil chuckle. "Well, the Sheriff here has come to take over. So if you'll please-" Frollo began. "Ah! The new Toon Town Sheriff has come to help, has he? Well, I think it's safe to say that I've got a pretty good handle of things here." Hades joked as he slowly slithered towards Raizo.

Raizo growled in anger as he glared at Hades. "Hades! What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Raizo growled. "What does it look like? I'm doing my job!" Hades replied with a snicker. "I thought that you were on vacation." Raizo pointed out. "What can I say? Duty calls!" Hades joked. "Give me a fucking break! You don't even have a job; you're not even supposed to be here right now!" Raizo snapped. "Oh, really?" Hades replied with a more grim tone.

Raizo finally approached Pete. "Pete! Shut up and listen to me for a sec, would you?" Raizo called out. Pete did stop singing, but he didn't look up at Raizo. "That you, boy? Look...I already told that blue dandy Hades that I didn't do nothing wrong, so quit wasting time and let me out of these straps!" Pete grumbled. Raizo wasn't going to put up with Pete's antics; not this time, and probably not ever again. "Pete...look at me! If you don't tell me what I want to hear within the next 10 seconds, this right here will be as good as you ever fucking get it! You understand me?!" Raizo shouted as he forced Pete to look up at him.

Pete looked up at Raizo with fear in his eyes, and for good reason. "Pete...my friend Roland is dead!" Raizo began. "What? Oh, shit...look boy! I didn't have anything to do with that girl, so what makes you think I had anything to do with, uh...what was his name again?" Pete began. "Roland! You know who he is, fatso! So you better start talking right now! Look; I've got questions and you've got answers! Whether or not they're the answers I want, I guess we'll find out." Raizo began.

As Raizo paced around the room, Pete gulped nervously. "Anytime you're ready...Sheriff!" Hades growled impatiently. "What do you want with me, boy? What did I do this time?!" Pete whimpered. "Sheriff? What do you plan on doing to him, exactly? And don't you forget about what we talked about." Frollo announced. "What did you tell him?" Hades demanded. "That we must do everything we can to find out who the killer is!" Frollo replied. Finally, Raizo spoke up. "I'm going to get him to talk...one way or another!" Raizo growled as he approached Pete in a menacing manner.

Raizo reached for a photograph from his jacket pocket; it was the photo of Roland's decapitated head. "I want to know why the other villains were lying about you back at the bar? Why were they vouching for you? What are you trying to hide this time?" Raizo asked. "Wait, what?" Pete replied. "I said...why were your friends from the bar vouching for you? Was it because of something you did?" Raizo said as he held the photo in his hands. "I don't get where this is going. And what is that you've got in your hands there?" Pete said. "Oh, this? You wanna know what this is?!" Raizo snarled as he shoved the photo into Pete's face.

Pete immediately lost all color to his face as he saw the graphic photo. "Oh, Jesus...I don't feel so good!" Pete groaned. "No, no, no! That's not how this works! How this works is that you take a good long fucking look at that photograph and you etch it into your fucking memory! This is what you did last night, isn't it?! This is why your friends were lying about you, wasn't it?!" Raizo cried angrily. "For fuck's sake, boy! You honestly believe that?! I'm telling you that I have no idea what the hell is going on here! I'm just as confused as you all are!" Pete exclaimed. "Then why were they lying about you?!" Raizo demanded.

At first, Pete didn't answer. Raizo's next move shocked the others; he savagely punched Pete in the face, breaking his nose. "OUCH! What the hell is wrong with you?! Can't you see I'm tied up here? Fuck!" Pete cried out in pain. "Sheriff! This is going to be quite difficult to justify this brutality to everyone else, is all I'm pointing out. Look, I know you're upset about Roland but this is not the way we do things!" Frollo exclaimed. "Shut up and stand back, old man! I've got this!" Raizo growled.

Raizo grabbed Pete by the collar and shook him. "Pete! Why did they vouch for you? Answer my question!" Raizo demanded. "Why do you think, boy?! Everyone's terrified of you; plain and simple! And quite frankly, I don't blame them!" Pete snapped back. Raizo let go of Pete and huffed angrily as he turned to face Frollo. "You told me that he was at the point of confession, Frollo!" Raizo snapped. "He was. He is!" Frollo exclaimed. "He did mention something about a certain someone not supposed to be there. What do you make of that? He knows what's going on here!" Hades said as with his arms folded across his chest. "Is that right? You said that, Pete? Who wasn't supposed to be there?" Raizo demanded. "It's...it's nothing, all right? It's my own personal business. I can't tell you a damn thing." Pete replied as he shook his head.

Pete then looked up at Frollo. "Where'd my stuff go? I wanna smoke, so where'd you put my stuff?" Pete demanded. "Frollo?" Raizo asked. "We confiscated his belongings for the time being. This is all that he had on him. It's nothing exceptional to speak of, I'm afraid." Frollo explained as he put down a box containing an open pack of cigarettes and a whiskey bottle. "Much like the man himself, I'd say!" Hades grumbled. Raizo sighed as he approached Pete again. "Pete...you're going to tell me what you know, or I'm going to make damn sure that you'll be praying to whatever deity that's listening that they never allowed your bitch mother to shit you out into this world!" Raizo threatened.

Pete looked up at Raizo with shock. "Jeez...it ain't worth all that, man! Just...just what do you want with me?!" Pete whimpered. "Tell me what you meant by Roland wasn't supposed to be there!" Raizo demanded. "Roland? No...I never said anything like that!" Pete objected. "Yes, you did." Hades said with a hiss. " _She_ wasn't supposed to be there, you snobbish ball of shit! I said _she_ wasn't supposed to be there; I was not talking about Roland!" Pete snapped. "Ok, so that's something. It's not Roland we're talking about, but someone else...so who are we talking about now?" Raizo questioned. "This has nothing to do with the killings. I can't tell you anything!" Pete replied.

Raizo responded by punching him in the face again; this time, breaking a tooth. "My tooth! You broke my tooth, you bastard! Get my outta this goddamn chair!" Pete screamed in pain. "Sheriff? Really now, this is going a bit too far! You need to back off!" Frollo cried as he approached him. "What?! We're finally getting somewhere!" Hades exclaimed. "Pardon my French, but what the fuck did you expect me to do?!" Raizo demanded. "Ask him questions, you fool!" Frollo snapped. "I am asking questions! But unlike you, I'm not afraid to use brute force to get the answers we need!" Raizo snarled. "You keep behaving this way and I guarantee you that this will lead to your peril!" Frollo warned.

Raizo rolled his eyes before he went back to interrogating Pete. "Pete? Tell me who wasn't supposed to be there...now!" Raizo demanded. "Who do you think? The whore! And the rest of it is my own personal business, boy!" Pete spat. "I'm sorry, who exactly are we talking about now?" Hades wondered. "Tiana." Raizo answered. "Tiana? This is about Tiana now?" Frollo demanded. "Some bitch who I don't know shows up and creates a whole big fuss out of a whole lot of nothing! Ask your sheriff here; he knows!" Pete said angrily. "So who were you expecting? What were you up to? And what does this have to do with any of the killings that occurred?" Raizo questioned. "No damned idea, boy!" Pete sneered before he spat blood at Raizo's feet.

Raizo lost his cool again and punched Pete in the face, making him cry out in pain. "Tell me now! Who were you expecting?!" Raizo shouted. "I don't...I don't see what you're getting out of this, boy!" Pete groaned in pain. "Sheriff! That's enough now!" Frollo cried. "He's right. It's time for more extreme measures, now!" Hades sneered. "What? No! That's not what I meant!" Frollo exclaimed.

Raizo didn't need to be told twice on what to do next. He observed the straps to Pete's hands, catching the attention of the toon. "You just gonna stand there or are you gonna loosen these up? They're cutting off my circulation!" Pete complained. Raizo smirked before he grabbed the straps and tightened them to the point where it made Pete cry out in pain. "OW! You...you...you think you're some kind of hotshot, huh? Well I guarantee you that you won't be so hot when I catch you off guard walking down a dark alley one night! Oh-ho-ho boy, will I be having dreams of that shit!" Pete laughed hysterically.

Raizo ignored him and grabbed Pete's whiskey bottle. Raizo observed it and scoffed. "You ever sober, fat boy?" Raizo smirked. "I don't give a shit what you think of me, boy!" Pete snarled. Raizo grimaced before he smashed the bottle into Pete's face, making him cry out as the glass cut up his face in several places. "Next time, I'm going to cut your throat!" Raizo sneered. "Sheriff!" Frollo exclaimed in horror. "Ooh...now we're talking! I like where this is going!" Hades chuckled evilly. "Burn his eyeballs out next! That'll get him talking!" Pain cackled. "Or cut off his fingers and toes!" Panic added with evil delight.

Raizo smiled evilly as he reached for something in his jacket. "I've got a better idea! I'll just kill him!" Raizo said as he pulled out a Beretta 9mm Pistol and pistol whipped Pete in the face. "Sheriff, stop it!" Frollo cried out. Hades howled with laughter as he watched Raizo beat Pete with his gun. "YES! That's more like it! That's how we get things done around here; I like your style kid!" Hades cackled evilly. "Pete! I'm gonna give you 3 seconds, and I do mean 3 exact seconds, to tell me the name of the person you were expecting to show up that night! If I don't hear a name by the time I count to 3, I'm painting this fucking wall with whatever brain is left inside of your fucking head! 1...2-" Raizo roared.

Pete finally gave in for fear of his life. "STOP IT! You win, ok? You win! I'll tell you, ok? Her name is Morgana...ok. That's it; Morgana!" Pete shouted. Raizo looked at him with confusion. "Morgana? Who the hell is that?" Raizo demanded. "She's Ursula's sister." Pete weakly said. "Wait a second! Ursula's sister? As in...the Little Mermaid Ursula?!" Raizo exclaimed in shock. "The one who works at the _Rotten Clam_ bar? That Ursula?!" Frollo added in just as much surprise. "Her sister is-" Raizo began.

Pete suddenly began to laugh at him. "Yes, detective! Her sister is a prostitute. I was a regular of hers, ok? She and I would meet every night whenever we had the chance. I would pay her, she would do her thing, and that was it. Now ordinarily if I was a little short on cash, Morgana would compensate me and I'd repay her whenever I could. But that stupid little bitch who showed up that night had no damn decency or respect! When she showed up, it threw me off. So congrat-u-fucking-lations, cowboy! You solved the fucking mystery; I hope you choke for this, you bastard!" Pete explained with bitter emotion.

Raizo was stunned by what he had heard. "Pete, I-" Raizo began. "SHERIFF! That is quite enough! I warned you earlier about this and you completely disobeyed me! So I have to put a stop to this nonsense, ok? This man has rights!" Frollo shouted angrily. "I think it's safe to say our friend has put his rights on leave!" Hades sneered. "Be quiet, Hades! I'll deal with you later!" Frollo snapped. "Hmph...spoilsport!" Hades grumbled. "Oh, shut it! You don't give a shit about his rights; you just don't want to deal with any heat!" Raizo snapped back. "You are not thinking of the bigger picture here, Sheriff! Brutally assaulting people and losing your temper isn't going to solve our problems, it's going to create more problems! I dare say that this juvenile behavior of yours is what got Roland killed in the first place!" Frollo exclaimed.

This made Raizo snap; how dare this old man blame him for his best friend's death! With a ferocious cry, Raizo grabbed Frollo and pinned him to the wall. "FUCK YOU!" Raizo roared as he aimed his gun at the old man's head. "I swear to God; I didn't mean it! You know that I never meant that!" Frollo begged. "I'll kill you, you son of a bitch!" Raizo snarled as his eyes began to glow green. "RAIZO! STOP IT!" a woman's voice shouted. Raizo gasped as he turned around to find an angry Reika Kitami facing him. "What the hell do you think you're doing now, you psycho?!" Reika demanded. "Reika, I-" Raizo began. "Raizo?! What the hell is going on here?" a man's voice demanded.

Time seemed to stop as Raizo saw the man who stood before him. It was Ken Roland!


	8. More Questions than Answers!

**Chapter 8: More Questions than Answers!**

* * *

As Raizo, Reika, and Roland walked over towards the elevators to reach their office, both men remained silent for a few moments. Neither of them knew what to say to the other; they were both so shocked for various reasons. Reika did her best not to intervene or say or do anything awkward, but as the two men stared at each other, their anger and frustration finally allowed them to speak their minds. "Raizo, what the hell was going on back there? Abusing a prisoner like that is not only unacceptable, but it's just not like you! What were you thinking?" Roland finally said with a stern tone.

Reika looked at Raizo, who in turn just appeared frustrated. "I was just doing my fucking job, all right?" Raizo said. "So that's your job; violently attacking people?!" Roland snapped. "Getting answers by any means necessary!" Raizo snapped back. Roland sighed as he shook his head. "Well I hope for your sake that it was worth your time." Roland said in defeat as he pressed the elevator button. As they both stepped in, an awkward silence filled the air.

On the one hand, Raizo couldn't help but feel betrayed by Roland for suddenly disappearing like that. But on the other hand, he couldn't blame him due to the fact that he was the only other man who actually did any real work around this place. And that's when it hit him; Roland was almost always here at HQ while Raizo was outside doing the dirty work. "Roland? Where the hell have you been all night?" Raizo finally asked. "I was outside asking questions about this case." Roland replied as a matter-of-factly. "So why didn't you leave us a message or anything? You had me worried sick!" Raizo demanded. "I tried to call you guys, but you never answered the phones. So I went out to try and get answers myself." Roland further explained.

Reika took a deep breath and sighed before she finally spoke up. "So what have you found out, detective?" Reika asked. "Just as you guys left for the _Rotten Clam_ , I got an anonymous call. They tipped me off about another possible murder. At the time, I thought it was another toon. But it turns out that there was actually a human involved this time. A human that looked like...like me. With a human victim at the crime scene, the FBI and CIA are involved now. So needless to say, things have gotten a lot more complicated. " Roland revealed. "Who was it?" Raizo wondered now curious. "That's the problem; we have no idea. We've got people looking into right now, but I want to take a look at the body myself. Maybe if we can identify this person, it should clear things up a little." Roland said.

Raizo sighed as he rubbed his head. "I'm sorry, Roland. I should've been there!" he said sadly. "There wasn't anything you could have done; not then. But now, we might have a chance to make things right." Roland said a bit more calmly. "Why do you think he was made to look like you? To throw us all off?" Reika asked. Roland and Raizo looked at her as she said that. "I mean, that's what this all is...right? A distraction?" Reika suggested. "Maybe...what do you think, Raizo?" Roland asked. "I...I don't know. There's something else going on here!" Raizo said as he rubbed his chin. "Maybe." Roland agreed. "So what do we do now?" Reika suggested. "I'll tell you exactly what we're doing; we keep doing what we've been doing. We do our jobs!" Raizo said sternly.

Roland grew visibly angry as he said that. "Do what? Let you guys run off into the streets and cause trouble again while I sit on my ass and do Frollo's paperwork?! Because that's exactly what's going on right now!" Roland said angrily. Raizo looked at Frollo with shock on his face. "Roland?" Raizo began. "Look; I'm tired of it! I'm so sick and tired of being Frollo's damned errand boy! I feel useless just sitting here doing nothing but paperwork while you get beaten up, questioned by cops, and who knows what else! I want to help people; not turn them away!" Roland vented.

Raizo knew that this would happen, but also knew that he couldn't just let his friend run off and get himself hurt. "Look, Roland! I'm not saying you should stay here. By all means; you should help others! But you can't just run off without knowing what you're getting into. Look, I almost lost you once-" Raizo began. "I'm not yours to lose, Raizo!" Roland shouted.

Raizo felt hurt by Roland's harsh words, and Roland realized it. "God damn it, kid! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that! It's just...I'm so fed up with this system Frollo has going on right now. I know how dangerous it is out there in the streets; I've been doing it for years before I brought you in. It's just that...that...I-" Roland began. "Look, if you guys are almost finished with this homoerotic bullshit, we've got a fucking job to do!" Reika finally snapped as she lost her patience with them both.

Raizo and Roland both glared at her for saying that, but knew that she was right. They did have a job to do and they weren't going to get it done by arguing with each other. "Reika's right; we've gotta talk to the person who called us about the most recent murder. After that, we need to examine the body of our victim. So let's all calm ourselves and get this done!" Roland announced before he opened the door to their main office.

As they stepped into their main office, the trio were surprised to see who it was standing in front of the magic mirror. There were several anime characters waiting for them; they were Ryoko, Ayeka Jurai, Sasami Jurai, Mihoshi Kuramitsu, Kiyone Makibi, Washu Hakubi, and Tenchi Masaki from the Tenchi Universe series! Needless to say, Raizo and Ryoko didn't get along too well. "Ryoko?! What the hell do you think you're doing here?" Raizo demanded. "Augh! Mirror; cancel! Cancel!" Ryoko exclaimed. "I told you not to come back here until you took your humanization pills, yet here you are with all these other toons!" Raizo exclaimed. "Oh, shove it you asshole! Don't even get started with me!" Ryoko snapped. "Ryoko! Mind your manners when you speak to the Sheriff!" Ayeka scolded. "Sheriff?!" both Roland and Reika exclaimed in shock.

Ryoko stomped towards Raizo, who looked like he was already about to go off on her. "I saw what you did down there in that little Gestapo hellhole of yours! Is that how you treat everyone when you take them in for questioning? Pete may be a good for nothing drunk, but that doesn't mean you can just beat the crap out of him whenever you feel like it!" Ryoko said angrily. "Ryoko is right; that's not how a police officer, let alone a sheriff should behave!" Kiyone agreed. "You scared the living daylights Sasami." Mihoshi added as she held the young girl in her arms. "She saw everything you did down there!" Tenchi pointed out.

Roland and Reika gave Raizo the evil eye, but Raizo was determined not to have any of it. "Whatever goes on down there is none of your damn business!" Raizo snarled. "Oh, I see...so that's how it is, huh? From now we can all expect to get beaten to near death if we're called in for questioning?!" Ryoko challenged. "Ryoko, that's enough! You know why we all came here; Sasami said she wanted to speak to the sheriff and that's what she's going to do." Ayeka said as she grabbed her shoulders. "Wait, so you're the one who called?" Roland asked in surprise. "My younger sister is, yes sir. Go ahead, Sasami. Tell the sheriff what happened." Ayeka said as she led the young girl to Raizo.

Reika smiled as she knelt down to her level. "Hi; my name is Reika Kitami. I work with Raizo." Reika introduced herself as she motioned Raizo to kneel down. Raizo rolled his eyes but soon followed. As he knelt down in front of Sasami, Ryoko glared at him. "You watch yourself, punk! If you do anything to hurt her-" she warned. "Ryoko, stop it!" Tenchi hissed. "It's all right, sweetie. Go ahead; he won't hurt you. He's here to help you just like the rest of us." Reika said sweetly.

Raizo sighed as he knew that this would be difficult, but even he knew better than to lose his temper with a child. "Ok, kid. Just...try to remember everything that happened. Start from the beginning." Raizo said calmly. Sasami took a deep breath before she spoke up. "I was outside at the park playing with my friends, just like I do everyday. I wasn't doing anything bad, I promise!" Sasami began. "It's ok, honey. We all know you're a good girl!" Ayeka said soothingly. "Just...tell me what you saw. Please!" Raizo urged doing his best not to sound mean or pushy. "We were going to get some ice cream before heading home, but then this big moving truck and several motorcycles nearly run us over. And before we know it, some bad looking men were everywhere. And when that happens, we're supposed to run and hide." Sasami explained.

Ayeka smiled as she pat her head. "That's right, little sister." Ayeka cooed. "And then, while I was hiding in the bushes...I saw...I saw it!" Sasami said before she began to cry. "Hey, it's ok. Hang in there!" Ryoko said softly. "You're doing great, honey." Reika encouraged. "There's no need to rush." Roland added. Raizo, however, wasn't too keen on being patient. He wanted to know exactly what had happened. "Come on, kid! Hurry this up; I don't have all day! I need details, names; whatever you know, I need to know now!" Raizo snapped. "Raizo!" Reika cried angrily. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Ryoko exclaimed. "Don't rush her!" Tenchi said angrily.

Sasami sniffled as she rubbed her eyes. "It's ok, guys. I'll tell you what I saw, Mr. Sheriff. I saw...I saw these men dragging these big black bags out of the truck. They were dumping them into the ocean just off the docks. But I saw a man inside one of the big black trash bags. And...and he didn't have his head on!" Sasami practically screamed. This made everyone upset, especially Raizo. "Jesus Christ! Hey, kid? Can you tell me who these men where? What they looked like?" Raizo pressed. "I couldn't see their faces. I was too scared to look!" Sasami quickly began. "Are you sure? Did you see any tattoos or any specific clothing of any type?" Raizo pressed. "Raizo...take it easy, all right?" Roland said as he motioned his hands to slow down.

Sasami sighed as she held her hands behind her back. "I, uh...will you promise not to get mad if I tell you?" Sasami began. "Wait, what are you talking about? You did stay hidden the whole time, didn't you?" Ayeka said suspiciously. "Tell me the truth; is there something else going on here?" Raizo urged. "Ok, the truth is...I didn't stay hidden in the bushes." Sasami said. "You what?! Sasami Jurai, what on earth were you thinking?! You know better than that!" Ayeka shouted angrily. "I'm sorry! I wanted to get a better look at who these bad guys were, so I snuck behind a rock that was right next to the docks." Sasami explained. "Sasami, I gave you very specific instructions! You know better than to go off and do something like that; if somebody saw you-" Ayeka scolded.

Raizo was losing patience; he wanted to hear the rest of what this girl had to say, but this mother hen was getting in the way of that. "Hey, lady! Back off; let her finish!" Raizo snapped. "Excuse me? You might be the sheriff, but she is my younger sister and I have a right to correct her!" Ayeka argued. "She's not your daughter, and you're not at home. This is a special circumstance, and I need to know everything she knows. Now back off!" Raizo growled. Ayeka glared at him, but stepped back as she allowed Sasami to continue. "We'll talk about a proper punishment when we get home later, young lady!" Ayeka said with an angry pout. "So you didn't stay hidden in the bushes, but you hid behind a rock. Did you get a better look at these men?" Raizo asked.

Sasami sighed as she nodded her head. "Yeah. It looked like most of them were wearing black jackets with these creepy looking dogs on the backs of them. Most of them looked pretty scary and angry looking, too!" Sasami explained. "Black jackets and scary dogs, huh? Roland, sound familiar to you?" Raizo said. "Yup; it sounds like the Hellhound MC is involved." Roland said as he folded his arms across his chest. "Hellhound MC? Who are they?" Reika asked. "They're a notorious outlaw biker gang; bunch of violent psychotic meth-heads they are! They're so bad, they give the Pagans a run for their money. I should know; I had a couple of run-ins with them and neither of them ended pleasantly." Roland answered bitterly.

Raizo looked at Sasami; she looked like she had more to say. "Did you hear any names? Did they say who they were or why there were doing what they did?" Raizo asked Sasami. "I didn't hear any names, but there was another bad guy with them. He was different, though. He wore a red tank top and had a mohawk. He looked really scary too; maybe even scarier than those bikers. He had a horrible scar on his face, and these scary looking eyes!" Sasami said as she grew more frightened by the moment. "What? No...it can't be. Listen to me kid. Can you remember anything else that happened? This is important! What else happened?" Raizo asked in a grave voice.

Sasami began to cry, but she continued to talk. "The guy in the red tank top seemed pretty mad with one of the bikers, so he said some bad words and threatened to kill him. I didn't exactly stick around to see what else happened, so I ran away as fast as I could. That's all that happened, I swear it!" Sasami said. "So what did he say to the biker?" Raizo wondered. "He said...he said stop laughing at me. And then he started cursing him." Sasami answered. "And that's all you remember?" Raizo asked. "Yes! That's all I know, I swear it!" Sasami cried. "Honey...take it easy!" Reika seethed as she saw Sasami getting upset.

Raizo sighed as he gently touched Sasami's shoulder. "Is there anything else?" Raizo urged. "No! I mean...I don't know!" Sasami whimpered. "Raizo, stop it! Can't you see she's frightened?" Roland snapped. Raizo sighed impatiently; he was growing tired of this. "I don't care how she feels right now! I need her to cooperate! Look, kid...there must be something else that happened before you left! Now tell me; what is it?!" Raizo cried as he gently shook her. "HEY! What did I say?! I said be nice to her or I'd-" Ryoko raged. "I heard a gunshot! That's why I ran; I didn't want to get shot, so I ran away! I swear to God, that's the truth!" Sasami sobbed.

This shocked everyone, stunning them into silence. "Oh my God!" Reika exclaimed at last. "Oh my dear Sasami! I'm so sorry you had to endure that; are you sure you're all right?! You haven't been hurt have you?" Ayeka exclaimed with tears of her own. "No! I'm sorry...after that happened, I just ran away as fast and as far away as I could. I'm sorry...but I wanna go home now!" Sasami said as she began to cry. Raizo took a deep breath before he stood up and spoke. "No. Not yet; I've still got some questions." Raizo began.

Ryoko finally lost it. "NO! THAT'S IT! You are not keeping her here against her own will, you bastard! You've got your information, so you don't need me to tell you where to stick it!" Ryoko screamed in his face before she grabbed Sasami by the hand and stormed off. "Hey! Ryoko, get back here!" Raizo shouted. "What?! What do you want now, you asshole?!" Ryoko screamed. Raizo glared at her, and she just glared back. "Where are your humanization pills?" Raizo asked at last. "You know what?! Fuck you!" Ryoko spat furiously.

This made Ayeka and a few others gasp. "Ryoko!" Ayeka exclaimed in shock. "I'm so sorry about this; she's usually much better behaved than this!" Tenchi pleaded. "Just get out of here, all right?! All of you!" Raizo snapped. "Gladly! I hope that you choke on that badge, you prick!" Ryoko snarled as she resumed stomping away.

As they all left, Roland and Reika glared at Raizo as he began to smoke a cigarette. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Reika demanded angrily as she got in his face. "What?!" Raizo demanded. "Are you so much of an asshole that you have to be like that to a kid?! And why the hell were you getting so hostile with that lady?" Reika shouted. "Actually...considering it's Ryoko we're dealing with here, that went about as well as I had expected it to go!" Rolland sighed as he lit a cigarette of his own. "Wait, what? What are you...you knew that woman, didn't you?" Reika asked. "She used to work for the TPP for awhile, but she quit." Roland revealed.

This surprised Reika greatly. "Oh, well that's good to know! Any other surprise guests that I should know about?!" Reika snapped. "Look, I think we've got the information we need now. But just to make sure it's related to our case...we need to check that body." Raizo announced. "Ok, well...let's get this over with. I'm not really looking forward to it, but we need to do it." Roland said as he crushed out his cigarette. And with that, they were off to the autopsy room.

As the three of them went inside of the autopsy room, an eerie yet sad silence filled the air. None of them were looking forward to seeing the body of Roland's double. "Ok, let's do this. Go ahead; remove the tarp." Roland instructed a Muppet dressed as the Grim Reaper. As the tarp was removed, a small gasp left the others' mouths. The body looked exactly like Roland; so much so, that it nearly made the real Roland faint. "My god...I didn't realize-" Roland began in shock. "It's not you; it's just a body. If you don't want to do this-" Raizo began. "No! I want to be here, ok? Just...do what you've gotta do." Roland objected.

Raizo put on some gloves, as did Reika much to his surprise. "What? I was a nurse; I thought you might need the extra help." Reika said. "Well, I'm not about to object. Just be careful, all right?" Raizo said as gently grabbed the head of Roland's double. "That's funny, coming from you!" Reika joked. "Knock it off, you two!" Roland snapped. As Raizo looked inside of the mouth of Roland's double, he grimaced as he put it back down. "Nothing! I thought there'd be something in there like last time, but...there's nothing." Raizo said. "Oh...ok, then. Well I'm sure we'll find something!" Roland said.

Just then, Goofy and Donald waltzed inside the autopsy room. "Hiya there! Any luck finding any clues?" Goofy announced. "No, not yet. Say, Goofy? You got back in touch with Dr. Light about Tiana yet?" Roland asked. "The doctor said he needed to run some more tests. He didn't say why, but that he'd let you know as soon as he was finished! Something just ain't right, he said!" Goofy answered. "And yet another problem for us to deal with!" Roland sighed.

After a few more minutes of examining the body, Reika finally found something. "Hey, guys? I think you may want to take a look at this!" Reika announced. "What is it?" Raizo asked. Reika pointed to some bruises and marks on the ankles and wrists of the dead body. "What? They're bruises...wait, what are you-" Raizo began. "I think maybe our friend here was tied before he was murdered." Reika suggested. "That or he could have been tied up after the murder. Sometimes they'll wrap chains around the bodies to prevent them from floating; makes them sink faster." Roland explained. "Ok, so what does this have to do with...huh? Wait a minute! What is this?" Raizo said as he found a small black object stuck in between the toes of the dead body.

As Raizo carefully removed it, it revealed itself to be part of a black trash bag. "Shit! I guess that little girl wasn't lying after all; this must be the headless man in the body bag she was raving on about!" Raizo said as he showed off the piece of the trash bag. "But she didn't say anything about any chains!" Reika pointed out. "Maybe someone was trying to pull them out?" Roland suggested. "But why? Why go to all the trouble of dumping the body into the ocean just so that they could fish it out again with chains?" Raizo pointed out. "Maybe somebody knew this person!" Donald guessed. "So why leave their head at our doorstep?" Raizo asked. "Wait a minute...Raizo, look! Those look like track marks on his legs." Reika said as she noticed something.

She was right; there were several track marks on the legs of the body. "Track marks; I guess our man was a drug addict! He must have been a heavy user judging by the amount of marks on his legs. I hear that if drug users run out of room on their arms, they'll inject themselves in the legs or even their groin areas." Raizo explained. "That's awful!" Reika exclaimed. "Yeah...I had a buddy of mine in my Special Forces Unit who became addicted to heroin after our last mission together. I never heard from him again!" Raizo said sadly. "Wait, if that's true...then why are there only marks on the legs and not the arms?" Roland wondered.

But before Raizo could answer, Frollo entered the room. "Well, I certainly hope that you are behaving yourself up here now that you're done beating people! What have you found out?" Frollo announced as he glared at Raizo. "Nice to see you too, old man!" Raizo grumbled. "We found out that our victim was dumped in a body bag into the ocean, but was later pulled back to land with chains. That explains the bruises on his ankles, but the track marks also speak for themselves." Roland explained. "Track marks? Um, you are aware that there are certain diseases-" Frollo exclaimed in shock. "Stop it! I don't think that our friend needs to worry about _that_ anymore!" Reika snapped. "Oh, um...of course! Certainly not!" Frollo reluctantly agreed.

Raizo finally discovered something else on the body. "Wait...what is that?" Raizo muttered as he felt something flaky peel off the skin. Much to everyone's surprise and disgust, Raizo put it into his mouth and tasted it before he spat it back out. "Raizo!" Reika exclaimed. "The hell do you think you're doing?!" Frollo cried in disgust. "What is it?" Roland asked as he saw grave look on Raizo's face. "It's arrowroot. It's a plant that used in Asian countries to make everything from cakes and puddings to baby food." Raizo answered. "Oh!" Goofy said in amusement. "And it's also used to prevent ice crystals from forming on frozen dead bodies!" Raizo added grimly. "Oh!" Goofy said in more shock.

Raizo knelt down and looked at the body, thinking deep and hard. "Raizo, what is it now?" Reika asked. Raizo looked at her and Roland with deep sadness in his eyes. "Guys...I think I need to remove his clothes." Raizo announced. "You have got to be kidding me!" Frollo said as his face paled. "Raizo? Let me do this, ok?" Reika said as she grabbed a scalpel. As she quickly and quietly cut the dead man's shirt off, the others quickly averted their eyes before they had to look again. What they saw made them wish that they hadn't seen it.

Reika nearly fainted at the sight; from the torso up, the man was covered in stitches, with some of the stiches wide open and a white powdery substance oozed out one of the open holes. "Fuck! I knew it; our guy is a pack mule!" Raizo cursed. "What's that?" Goofy asked worriedly. "They cut open his body and fill him with drugs. This is a move that only the cartel pulls off! I only hope that this poor son of a bitch was dead when they did this!" Raizo said with grim emotion. "Those fucking monsters! How could they do something like this?! It's awful!" Reika shouted angrily as she slammed her fist on the table.

Frollo turned his back in disgust and sighed. "They should all be destroyed; the vile creatures!" Frollo muttered. "I heard that, but for once I agree!" Raizo called out. "I think this is turning out to be more than a simple murder case, folks. If the cartel is involved in all of this, then the DEA needs to be notified. In fact; I think we could use the help from the FBI and the CIA, considering that there are multiple causalities." Roland announced. "No! We don't need help from the government, Roland! This happened in our turf, so it's our case! We can handle this!" Raizo objected. "Yes, it's the Sheriff's responsibility to protect Toon Town. Let the fools from the FBI and CIA handle their problems, and we'll handle our own!" Frollo added.

Roland shook his head. "You don't understand! If the cartel is involved...look, I've dealt with these kinds of people before. They're not just a bunch of tattooed hood rat gangbangers who fight over turf or street cred; these are highly organized and intelligent criminals. Not to mention ruthless killers who would stop at nothing to kill anyone who gets in their way!" Roland explained. "Which is why Raizo is the perfect man for this job! If he could handle a rouge demon warlord, I'm sure he's more than capable of handling this cartel you speak of!" Frollo insisted.

Roland grew frustrated as he said that. "That was different! We dealt with a toon villain; this threat is real! I've seen what happens if you cross the cartel unprepared; an entire elite team of men like Raizo would not stand a chance if we're not careful! Getting the FBI and DEA to join forces with us would benefit us in the long run!" Roland snapped. "Hold on a second! Are you suggesting that I'm not able to stand up against the cartel? If that's the case, just get me a couple of big guns and a lot of ammo! I can hold my own just fine!" Raizo argued. "You don't know what these people are capable of, kid!" Roland shouted. "Excuse me, but I've worked for people like these before. So yeah, I think I fucking do know what they're capable of!" Raizo shouted back. "Will you two shut up? We've got more important things to worry about right now!" Reika called out.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light filled the autopsy room. As everyone's sight adjusted, they all gasped in shock as they saw what laid before them on the autopsy table: a toon sea witch! "Oh my God!" Reika exclaimed. "She's a sea witch?!" Donald cried in shock. "Ugh...I think I'm going to be sick!" Frollo groaned in disgust. "Holy shit!" Raizo muttered in shock. "Well...it looks like your theory was right after all, Kitami. They did use some kind of disguise!" Roland said after a moment of collecting himself. "Who is she? She looks kinda familiar!" Goofy said.

Suddenly, Raizo realized who it was. "Oh, no...it's Ursula's sister, Morgana!" Raizo said. "Morgana?! Wasn't she on the Toon Town's Missing List?" Roland exclaimed. "Yes...and I think we know why now. Well, somebody's gonna have to break the news to her. I better go and get this over with." Raizo said. "I'll go with you." Reika offered. "So will I!" Roland said. "Absolutely not! You can't go out there, it's too dangerous!" Frollo objected. "Excuse me? Why the hell not?!" Roland demanded. "It's the Sheriff's job to do the street work; we need you here!" Frollo said. "I can handle myself just fine, Frollo! Besides, I'm the one who found the information we needed!" Roland snapped. "Do not forget your place, young man. Besides, Raizo is the Sheriff. You're not! Let him do his job and you do yours!" Frollo scolded. "That's not fair, Frollo!" Roland cried angrily.

Raizo smirked as he lit up another cigarette. "Actually, Roland is more of more use to me out there on the streets than being cooped up in here. Besides; you're the one who's so concerned about the paperwork, so you take care of it! Ready when you are, Roland!" Raizo said. "What? But I-" Frollo began. "Thanks, Raizo. Let's go; we'll solve this case yet!" Roland said as he walked away with Raizo and Reika. As they left, Frollo pouted as he was left alone in the autopsy room. "Oh, bollocks! I need my wine. Where did I leave it?" he grumbled.


End file.
